Glen Mhor Distillery Wine and Spirit Trade Record 1907 Reprint

 

A remarkable item recently surfaced at Whisky Auctioneer, but unfortunately, I couldn't secure it during the bidding process. I had to bow out at £150 before costs, which meant this 8-page treasure ended up costing nearly £200 after fees. A thank you to WA for providing the image.

While it's disappointing not to have won, I respect my limits and extend my congratulations to the successful bidder. If they’re willing to share digital images of the other seven pages, I’d love to delve deeper and help spread the knowledge to a broader audience, and pay a publication fee. One of my guiding principles is to ensure that information remains accessible to everyone, fostering a greater understanding.

That said, this lot serves as a testament to the resilience of even the most delicate documents in our digital era. It gives me hope that other treasures will eventually surface.

What we do know is that this pamphlet is not the original insert from the trade magazine published in 1907. It appears that Mackinlay & Birnie chose to republish it at a later, unspecified date, likely as a promotional tool for friends, journalists, and those who didn’t subscribe to the magazine. Meaning, we have two versions, increasing its survival rate. 

The auction description notes that this small booklet chronicles the history and 'production methods of the now-defunct Glen Mhor distillery, complete with stunning photographs of the old site.' While details are sparse, I suspect the images may either be familiar ones from the newly constructed distillery or previously unseen ones from the same collection. If a photographer was on-site to capture the mashtun, it’s likely that every room and piece of equipment was documented for posterity.

The style and size of this pamphlet remind me of the publication from Mackinlay & Birnie about their Saladin boxes, which was released in the late 1940s.

I can’t help but think of fishermen reminiscing about the one that got away or football fans lamenting missed opportunities. Distillery research it seems is very much the same.