SWilliams_20171201_2097The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has been named Independent Bottler of the Year in Whisky Magazine’s prestigious Independent Bottlers’ Challenge (IBC) competition.

The SMWS has concluded a wonderful year of recognition for its single cask, single malts by winning the title of Independent Bottler of the Year in Whisky Magazine’s Independent Bottlers’ Challenge competition. The Society also won the awards for Independent Bottler of the Year for Campbeltown, Speyside and Grain whiskies.

The IBC award demonstrates the extremely important role that independent bottlers play within the whisky industry, offering consumers expressions from distilleries where ‘house’ bottlings are rare or non-existent, as well as single cask and limited-edition releases at unusual ages and a range of strengths.

The Independent Bottler of the Year award concludes an extremely successful year for the Society, with a suite of prizes in a range of international competitions, including The Luxury Masters awards, the IWSCInternational Spirits Challenge, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the Ultimate Spirits Challenge, and the Scotch Whisky Masters.

“This year has been one of the busiest and most successful in The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s history, and winning the overall title of Independent Bottler of the Year is fantastic recognition of the outstanding quality of the whisky we offer our members,” said Kai Ivalo, spirits director at the SMWS.

“We go to great lengths to source for our members the very best casks from a wide range of distilleries and offer a huge variety of bottlings in our monthly Outturns.

“Winning the overall title, as well as gaining recognition for the best bottlings in the individual Campbeltown, Speyside and Grain categories, is a great endorsement for what we do and demonstrates the consistent excellence of our single cask, single malts.”

To access the Society’s award-winning whiskies, join up now by visiting www.smws.com/whisky-club-membership

 

Here are all the bottles that helped the Society win the overall title of Independent Bottler of the Year 2017.

SPEYSIDE

Winner, Independent Bottler of the Year

12 Years & Under: Silver medal winner

36.128 Moroccan afternoon tea

 

13-20 Years Old: Gold medal winner

35.174 The river of joy

Egg custard with a touch of gravelly minerality. Sharper orchard fruit notes build, along with a pinch of candied lemon.

 

Silver medal winners: 9.110 Sense of sophistication, 9.116 Boozy fruit trifle

 

21 Years & Over: Gold medal winners

9.107 Intriguing adventures

Meaty notes mingle with freshly cut grass and tarragon cream.

 

35.177 Caramelised fruit and nut medley

Perfumed and pokey. Sultanas and sugared raisins with baked apples.

 

Silver medal winner: 39.135 Magical and heavenly

 

ISLAY

12 Years & Under: Silver medal winner

10.118 Enthralling pink and peat intensity

 

LOWLAND

13 to 20 Years Old: Silver medal winner

5.58 Contrapuntal harmony

 

21 Years & Over: Bronze medal winner

50.92 Sipping sherry in the potting shed

 

NON-SCOTCH

12 Years & Under: Silver medal winners

134.1 Exotic rainforest fruits, 133.1 Speakeasy sneaky peeky

 

CAMPBELTOWN

Winner, Independent Bottler of the Year

 

12 Years & Under: Gold medal winner

93.72 BBQ outside a sweetie factory

Big wonderful sweet nose then BBQ coals with honey-coated chicken just caramelising. Salt and chilli chips with prawns.

 

Silver medal winner

93.76 Beurre blanc and blue steak

 

13-20 Years Old: Silver medal winner

93.73 Seaside chillies with syrup

 

21 Years & Over: Gold medal winner

93.78 Like a vintage dessert wine

Seriously gentle and delicately oily, almost sticky like sauternes wine. Rich fruits, melon and mango. A little oak grip.

 

GRAIN

Winner, Independent Bottler of the Year

 

12 Years & Under: Gold medal winner

G15.1 Lead us to temptation

Perfectly pleasant, grassy vanilla notes dominate, with cracked black pepper.

 

13-20 Years Old: Silver medal winner

G9.3 Fruit, spice and all things nice

 

21 Years & Over: Silver medal winner

G1.15 Could pacify a mob

RZSS Edinburgh Zoo was presented with three prestigious awards at the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) annual awards ceremony event hosted by The Deep in Hull.

The Zoo received the silver award in the Conservation category for its groundbreaking work reintroducing the critically endangered Partula tree snail into French Polynesia, whilst the Zoo’s contemporary new tiger enclosure – Tiger Tracks – was also recognised, picking up bronze awards in both the Exhibit and Horticulture categories.

Barbara Smith, Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), said:

“We were delighted to see RZSS Edinburgh Zoo recognised with a silver and two bronze awards at the prestigious BIAZA Awards ceremony. RZSS has been involved in Partula snail conservation since 1984, and this latest award is real testament to the skill of the team involved and the long-term commitment RZSS has to the species.

“It’s also great to see our visitor favourite Tiger Tracks – the new and improved home for our pair of critically endangered Sumatran tigers at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo – being awarded two bronze medals for Exhibit design and Horticulture.”

Dr Kirsten Pullen, CEO of BIAZA, said, “Our annual awards ceremony recognises excellence in the work being carried out by our zoos and aquariums as well as our associate members. Our community is committed to conservation, education, research, and having the highest levels of animal welfare and this is highlighted by the incredibly high standard of award submissions this year. I am delighted that RZSS Edinburgh Zoo has achieved these awards.”

RZSS Edinburgh Zoo is one of Europe’s leading centres of conservation, education and research. We work collectively with many other zoos and conservation agencies both here in Scotland and in over 20 countries around the world on co-ordinated conservation programmes, to help ensure the survival of many threatened species.

Capital Document Solutions Limited are delighted to be exhibiting at this year’s Information & Records Management Society Conference. This event is being held at The Hilton, Glasgow on the 21st-23rd May 2017.

Firstly, this major industry gathering provides an opportunity to get an independent view on the key challenges surrounding the critical issues of effective and efficient Records Management.

Capital Document Solutions is a Laserfiche Gold Certified Reseller. Therefore, we will be exhibiting in partnership with Laserfiche, the world leaders in Enterprise Content Management Software (ECM). Come and see us at Stand 17.

The internationally renowned Information & Records Management Society (IRMS) have another packed programme. Inspirational speakers, lively discussions and unbeatable networking opportunities – centred around the latest thinking, industry innovations and best practice from world-class organisations.

Exhibiting for Capital will be Professional Services Manager, Paul Hamilton and also Professional Services Consultant, Sarah Lynch. Sarah is pictured below in addition to Laserfiche Business Development Manager, Attar Naderi.

Records Management Conference Keynote Speakers

The conference has a huge range of experts who will be presenting. These include:

• Tim Ellis, The Keeper of the Records of Scotland,
• Sarah Hutchison, Head of Policy and Information, Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner,
• John McKinlay, Convener of Technology Law and also Practice Committee, Law Society of Scotland and
• Atle Skjekkeland, Senior Vice President, AIIM.

Conference Key Features

Firstly, the event will feature high-level keynotes addresses with focused workshops and interactive debates. This comprehensive exhibition will also be ideal for peer-to-peer networking.

So, over three information-packed days, issues being addressed include:

• Best practices and innovation in Enterprise Content Management,
• Understanding and responding to changes in information law,
• Helping you as a professional, particularly in managing change,
• Case studies and best practice from our host country and
• Case studies from our vendor community on many aspects of information and also records management.

Conference Topics include:

• GDPR
• Office 365
• Automation
• The Future of IRM
• Sharepoint
• Change Management
• Cyber Security
• Sustainability