Momentous Minutes - The Ardbeg Project

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continued…Rory’s Rein of Terroraround the ring. Those of note included anold cast iron bath. Was this the legendarybath where Jim ‘Spike’ McGilvray kept hissecret supply of new make spirit? (SeeMomentous Minutes Issue 3 for details.)Difficult to get on the plane and nigh onimpossible to get past the airport metaldetector, the bath did not sell on the dayand remains at Ardbeg where offers are stillwelcome. However, there were plenty ofhappy and satisfied bidders. CommitteeMember Klaus Pinkernell, who runsCadenhead’s Whisky Market in Berlin, bidfor and bought an array of items with whichto adorn his shop including the extremelyheavy and unwieldy anti-collapse valve –a snip at £5. He was also the successfulrecipient of the ‘Mystery Box’ which hedeclared to be a tremendous bargain at £130,for it contained commemorative staves, anIan Gray painting, an Ardbeg Shop sign,a 30 year old Ardbeg and something‘unmentionable’, among other wonderfulthings. The day was a great success and intotal, the Auction raised over £1,000 ofwhich 40% was donated to local Islaycharities. Auctions apart, there’s alwayslots of fun to be had at Ardbeg.Still available for sale, or even for setting sail.As demonstrated beautifully by Yogi and Drew.The entrance to the Ardbeg Distillery ispresently guarded by a local pony calledRory. We would like to warn visitors thatthey should not be taken in by theapparently mild-mannered equine whogreets them on arrival. Oxymoronic as itmay sound, Rory is in fact a ferocious pony.This was drawn to our attention during ourrecent shop refurbishment, when threestrapping lads from the joinery firm wereThe UltimateExpression?Any Committee Member worth his malt willknow how important it is to demonstrateloyalty to Ardbeg, and in true Ardbeggianspirit, Members across the world have beendoing just that in highly commendable ways.We have heard about the Ardbeg Guesthousenear Edinburgh and the two CommitteeMembers who gave Ardbeg to their baby asa middle name.Yet surely the ultimate expression of anyone’spassion for Ardbeg is to tattoo oneself,as Henrik Dahlberg did (pictured right).This serious act of dedication prompted usto consider how many other CommitteeMembers would be prepared to follow suit,albeit in a less permanent fashion. To thisend, we have supplied all CommitteeMembers with a tattoo transfer which canbe easily applied to (and removed from) anypart of the anatomy. Thus your challenge isto send us a photograph of you displayingyour tattoo in an unusual place†.sent into Rory’s field to erect our newwelcome sign. Welcome they were not,however: Islay’s resident bronco (also widelyknown as a ‘bad tempered sod’) proceeded tonudge, nuzzle and make such a nuisance ofhimself that the team were unable to leavethe field for at least 35 minutes. Theirterrifying ordeal was finally brought to anend when the farmer’s wife was called in andthe boys were released, thankfully unharmed.Please send the photograph to ‘TheUltimate Expression’, Ardbeg Distillery,Port Ellen, Isle of Islay, Argyll, PA42 7EAScotland, or email it to us atoldkiln@ardbeg.com. The best entry will berewarded with an expression of theUltimate Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky*.†A few suggestions: Shoulderblade(Kentucky), Long Nose (Wales), Left Hand(West Virginia) or Tongue (Scotland)
There’s something inthe waterThe next time you’re wandering throughPort Ellen, don’t be surprised if you findyourself seeing double. We can assure youthat the whisky, in this instance, is unlikelyto be the cause.Any symptoms of diplopia are more likelyto be due to the rather surprising fact thatPort Ellen, with a population of just 900,has more than six sets of twins. In fact,it has seven. Indeed, our own Dugga andYogi both have twin sons.However, if twins are doubly likely on Islay,they are also doubly hardy, as demonstratedrecently by (twins) Kevin and David, alongwith several young friends. In a howlinggale, with a teeth-chattering wind chillfactor of minus six, our intrepid twosomewere spotted merrily jumping off the PortEllen dockside into the freezing sea,doubtless risking a couple of doses ofdouble pneumonia. When asked to confirmwhether this was a regular form ofrecreation, Kevin (or was it David?) retorted,“Only when the weather’s good.”Make minea doubleTwice the FunAll this twin talk leads us nicely onto thesubject of this year’s nominations forArdbeg’s twin town 2005. As Members know,the first Ardbeg twin town to be named wasKielce in Poland, as put forward by TadeusZolnierczyk. Subsequently, a rather fetchingplaque was unveiled at the Islay Festivalof Malt & Music in May and now hangsproudly in the Old Kiln Café. Many thanksto those of you who nominated your hometown last year and please feel free to enteragain this time. All that is required is a lettergiving us reasons, tenuous or otherwise,why you believe your town or city shouldbe twinned with Ardbeg. Photographicevidence will be gratefully received, closelyscrutinized and may appear in future editionsof Momentous Minutes. Please write to ushere at Ardbeg Distillery, Port Ellen, Islay,Argyll PA42 7EA Scotland. (To see previousentries visit ardbeg.com, go to theCommittee Room and download the PDF ofMomentous Minutes Issue 5.)A Homing InstinctThe outbuildings at Ardbeg are treasuretroves stuffed to the gunnels with ancientphotographs, copious copies of old lettersand various other dusty documents. Muchinformation on what life was like in the olddays of Ardbeg can be gleaned from theselong abandoned annals.A recent rummage uncovered a trulywonderful find, pictured right. If the facelooks familiar, you’ll have no doubt visitedthe distillery and met the man himself,Duigan Campbell, albeit, an older version.Duigan also makes a vocal appearance onour website in our Gigs and Yarns section.Far be it from us to suggest that Duigan hasan eye for the birds, but the evidence wouldsuggest more than a passing ornithologicalinterest…The story goes that Duigan started workingat Ardbeg at the age of 16 but in 1953found himself called up to the RAF. Basedin Pitreavie Castle in Fife, he was accordedthe role of senior aircraftsman. Alas, he wasnever given a chance to fly himself onaccount of the fact that the job of a senioraircraftsman was based firmly on the ground.Once discharged from the RAF, Duigan’shoming instinct took him straight back toArdbeg. Upon arrival, the ‘birdman ofArdbeg’ painted the barrel himself torecord his time away and his return, havinga love of painting and drawing, as well asa love of pigeons. (Duigan raised severalpouters and fantails from squabs.)The head cooper at the time, JohnFerguson, was so impressed with Duigan’shandiwork that he proclaimed the barrelshould be kept in the workshop, where itremains to this day… somewhere. As we’vestated, our troves are somewhat knee-deepin treasures. We can only surmise that ourpenchant for hoarding must be inextricablylinked with our fondness for whisky making– once we’ve stored something, whether itbe whisky or ephemera, it generally staysput for a very long time.So if you ever have the same instinct to visitevery Committee Member’s ‘spiritual’home (the Ardbeg Distillery), ask to takea look at Duigan’s barrel and you can helpus take a look for it. Now where did we putthe key to the workshop…The Birdman of Ardbeg
Page 1: Momentous MinutesIssue 6 October 20
Page 5 and 6: never to be re(peat)edFor peat’s

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