Spirit of Unity

I just pre-ordered one too. Hopefully I don't get taxed too heavily in Ontario for it.

Thanks @dougwatts, very good shout. This is a really worthwhile cause and it sounds like the whisky could be very nice too, I'm going to order a bottle.

@Jean-Luc, agreed, though as someone has already commented on the Bladnoch forum, "I wonder what they do with the left overs, because surely expertly blending doesn't mean mixing them all in together in a very big tank". A good point! Still, worth a punt in my book, both for the experimental appeal and the worthy cause.

Very true @dougwatts, for example one part Kilchoman would probably overpower some of the other six whiskies in terms of a blend.

Do you think they ship the the US? More specifically South Carolina. I don't know our state laws on shipping. I guess I should look into it first.

Just pre-ordered my bottle too and got confirmation already. Looking forward to trying this. Great idea from the manager of Arran. Wonder what kind of concoction Billy Walker, distiller at BenRiach, will come up with. But indeed it makes you wonder what will happen with the whisky that is not used in this blend...

Just ordered mine, great to see that £49 from every bottle goes straight to the relief fund.

They'll probably put the leftovers into some sort of commemorative blend.

@jasonbstanding or they could auction off bottles of single cask whisky to raise money. I bet we could help with that. Would anyone be interested? Should we contact them?

@Piero Yes!

@Piero: please do! I would indeed be interested.

@Piero Nice idea. Connosr limited edition single cask bottlings: I like where this is going!

That's an interesting idea re leftovers. Have sent a quick message to Euan, will get back with response when I know. Whole focus of project was speed. Get casks from around Scotland, get money in and back out to Japan. Then get whisky to the nice customers who ordered. Euan's done great job getting this far so quickly with so many different companies (allbeit ones that are small and can move fast unlike a few dinosaur juggernauts I deal with everyday...)
Everyone's had confidence the final result will be good, as it has great ingredients after all. Sure, it may be an imperfect dram, but one with a very good heart. Lots of faith involved in this on part of distillers, retailers and customers and so far us at Royal Mile Whiskies have been blown away by the response. Even though this whisky doesn't even exist yet, it's flying off the shelves (No pressure Billy!)

@ArthurMotley thanks for the update, it will be great to hear what Euan thinks.

I've just preordered my bottle as well, always good to do your bit, and it's hard to pass up an opportunity to own/taste a unique bottling such as this!

Great idea... curious blend experiment. Who is the master blender?

@Piero I'm just interested to hear if you got anywhere with your idea to appoach these guys about auctioning off the spare? I'd think this blend must be nearing completion by now...

@dougwatts We contacted Royal Mile who were very enthusiastic (Arthur from RM commented on this thread). They put us in touch with Arran distillery but the guys at Arran are either too busy or not interested because they haven't replied to us. If we do hear anything I'll let you know.

Hi everyone. Actually, I'm just reading a proof of a communication to all of our customers due to go out very soon. Basically, bit of a delay. It took longer than anticipated to get all casks in from around Scotland and then a slight packaging issue. Whole thing is taking Euan at Arran a little more time than he'd hoped (his donation in times of work load has been most generous of everyone involved). We need to get the bulk of the bottles sorted and out to the generous customers/donors before looking at this other idea. Trust me, its super busy for Arran and all involved.

"As the Spokesperson for the Spirit of Unity Project I would like to bring you up to date with regards to the availability of the bottles.

In bringing together such a unique bottling there are inevitably going to be a few hitches along the way and unfortunately this has been the case. As a result of some issues with the packaging we are now looking at bottling the whisky on May 18th with the stock available for despatch to Royal Mile Whiskies and then onwards to actual consumers/customers as soon as possible. Your patience in this matter is greatly appreciated and rest assured we are pulling out the stops to ensure you get your hands on the bottles as quickly as we can.

In terms of the objective of the project we are collaborating with an organisation called Refugees International Japan to put the funds to the best use possible. The CEO of RIJ, Jane Best, has recommended funding a number of long-term projects in the affected Tohoku area to assist with the rebuilding of this shattered community. More information on how the money is being spent will follow in due course.

Thank you once again for your terrific support of this very worthwhile cause" (Euan Mitchell, MD Isle of Arran Distillers)

This is Royal miles mail: "Here is the latest information we have available: We would hope that the inconvenience of this delay can be put into perspective and seen as relatively nothing compared to the hardship still being experienced in Japan. The most important thing is that the money raised by your generosity is already being used to get the disaster hit areas back on their feet. Here is a brief report from David Kroll who visited the affected areas late last month;...."

All good things come to those who wait...

My bottle arrived today - you can add yours to your cabinet here connosr.com/whisky/blended/…

Got mine today as well.

Glad to hear bottles are arriving with the generous people who donated. Anyone care to let us know if they've tasted it. It sounds ridiculous, but we can't even open a bottle ourselves as its all sold. DESPERATE to know what it tastes like!

@ArthurMotley Wow, that's amazing (and honestly, pretty hard to believe). So you didn't get a bottle yourself, Arthur?! :) Just kidding. If and when I open up my bottle, I'll be sure to post some tasting notes here. But truth be told, I plan to keep it in my collection for a while as I find it a truly exceptional project and want to keep this as a keepsake and reminder for a while.

Mine was attempted to be delivered two days ago, but due to work i've been unable to collect it, however tomorrow i should finally have my grubby mitts on my bottle! Can't wait!

Mine landed earlier in the week. I might crack it open at the weekend. I'm surprised at the lack of review on the web - i can't find any....

Couldn't order one b/c my stupid state won't allow direct order shipments of alcohol. :( For those who do receive one, have a dram for me.

I just posted my tasting notes here bit.ly/loDSFX