Whisky Archive

Following a VERY successful Kickstarter campaign, I’m proud to announce that the first batch of SIA Scotch Whisky is making it’s way from Scotland to the United States in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for more details!

Hello friends! What an exciting ride this has been. The SIA Scotch Whisky project is now at 82% funded.  Some great press mentions are on the way and reposting the contents from the actual project in case you would like to share with your readers and friends. Feel free to reach out to me directly via the project page for any questions.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/siascotch/sia-scotch-whisky

SIA is a delicious, new, fresh and modern blend, born from my desire to share the beauty of Scotch Whisky with the world.

With your help, I can complete the production of the first batch and have it imported for distribution in the United States. To achieve this, I need your help to complete: 

• Work with the importer on finalizing the production with the makers/distillery 
• Bottling, labeling and packaging costs
• Shipping, customs and warehouse storage in the US

How Kickstarter Works

To accomplish this, the goal is to raise $39,000 or more within a 40-day time period. I’ve created some amazing rewards to thank you for your generosity. It’s all or nothing, the project moves forward only if the goal is met. If not, you as a supporter will not be charged a penny.

As a San Francisco resident and backer of several projects, I’ve seen firsthand what a difference the Kickstarter community can make. I can’t do this without you!

For the last 10 years, I’ve had a love affair with Scotch. I’ve loved exploring its richness and complexities. I especially love that moment when I introduce someone to the right Scotch and see the look of surprise and delight spread across their face.

I developed blind tastings of over a hundred different types of Scotch to find the unique flavor profiles that appealed to a modern palate. Armed with this research, I began testing and tweaking variations after variations, until I knew it was perfect.

Then the real work began. 

• Researching and calling on over 80 distillers
• Carefully selecting an award-winning distiller to create the highest quality product
• Evaluating and securing the perfect importer that is completely aligned with the mission of this brand
• Spending long nights doing the painstaking work of building pricing, distribution, retail and marketing plans
• Working for over eight months designing a modern bottle and package to stand out from all the dusty stodgy bottles on the shelf
• Securing difficult and stringent approvals from the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau of the federal government and the Scotch Whisky Association

All of the major hurdles are complete AND there are people who are ready to buy it!

With your support, we can put SIA in the hands of people worldwide. The project is currently in the final stages of design and development, ready for production. Production date is tentatively scheduled for December 1 – with Whisky in hand delivered to the US in late January 2013 (It’s a 6-8 week cycle from when we say “go”).

HOW WILL THE FUNDS BE USED?

The main portion of funds received from our Kickstarter will go towards purchasing the actual spirit and glass as well as bottling costs and freight and taxes. The goal of this project is $39,000.

• For this initial run, each case comes to roughly $118 (quantity 250 cases) This cost includes liquid cost, glass order and etching, label printing, cork and cap purchase, foil and outer shipping box, bottling process costs, freight from Scotland and US taxes. Total $29,500.
• Rewards and fulfillment costs are roughly $6,500.
• Kickstarter and Amazon fees are very reasonable fees at 8-10% of the total (roughly $3,000) in order to make pledge fulfillment easy. They work hard to make this all work for us.

Once in hand, a very aggressive sales campaign will begin to make sure the first batch is sold quickly and a second, larger batch can be ordered and enjoyed. In exchange for your generous support, there are a number of rewards to enjoy as well as some pretty impressive recognition. I realize this is a group effort and thank the community profusely for its outstanding support.

SIA Scotch Whisky is a superior blended Scotch Whisky. It is distilled, matured and produced in Scotland. Blends are a combination of Speyside and Highlands with a small touch of Islay. SIA is accessible, inviting, smooth and easy to drink. It is delicious neat, on the rocks, or in a cocktail. Bottle is 750ml and Whisky is 43% ABV (86 Proof).

Professional Tasting Note #1: The color of this whisky is deep gold with yellow highlights. The nose is fresh and malty, with a bit of banana and fruit cake. The palate is well balanced with just the right amount of smokiness combined with a pear drop sweetness. The finish is long, smooth and refreshing.

Professional Tasting Notes #2: Nose: opens with toffee and spices, developing to a fresh citrusy quality before a liquorice character appears. Taste: initially, discover a sweet, ripe fruit quality running to more toffee plus a distinct vanilla style. Finish: the finish remains vanilla’d carrying a round and well balanced sweet & spicy quality.

Backers! Thank you! Because Kickstarter rules do not allow alcohol as a prize, below are some really creative rewards for your contribution that I hope you find exciting and thoughtful.

• Backer Party - An invitation to our Backer Party to thank our more committed supporters. Taste the first sips of SIA Scotch Whisky. Plus T-Shirt – Limited edition Project Backer shirt designed and printed in the USA.
• A SIA Scotch drink named in your honor on the SIA website.
• Event space rental in the loft featured in the video, accommodate your group of up to 75 people.
• Your name printed on a limited edition retail box.
• VIP access and the opportunity to help host at a cocktail or Whisky industry event- get a behind-the-scenes look
• How I did it – A two-hour consultation and a detailed step-by-step process on how to build your own spirit brand, workflow, processes and resources. If you are serious about starting your own brand, this will save you at least a year’s worth of research.
• Weekend in San Francisco in the loft shown below for up to 3 people includes a unique Scotch themed dinner prepared by an award-winning chef and a San Francisco Bay tour in a private airplane.
• 1,000 bottles of SIA Scotch Whisky will be named in your honor.

Please click the “pledge now” button and help bring SIA to life. 

Share this project with your friends and family, just getting the word out is very helpful.

An enormous thanks you, our backers, for your generous support of this project and my dream!

SIA Scotch Whisky is well on the way towards funding via Kickstarter, but still very much needs your help. The first week was greeted with overwhelming support from family and close friends who support my dream and have seen firsthand how hard I’ve worked on this business and how committed and dedicated I am towards it.

It’s now time to begin reaching out to the kindness of strangers, the amazing community on Kickstarter and you, my kind readers. If you know of someone you think would be interested in funding the first Scotch on Kickstarter and helping firsthand in the creation of a new spirit, please pass the link along. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/siascotch/sia-scotch-whisky

If there’s someone you’ve connected with over a Scotch – please share the link with them and know that for less than the price of a couple of cocktails, you helped to create a new product and can see it someday on the shelf at a store or your favorite bar and think “hey- I helped make that happen.”

And if you are or know someone in the media who might be interested in covering a very cool story, please send me an email via the project’s website.

Below is an exceprt from the project

SIA is a delicious, new, fresh and modern blend, born from my desire to share the beauty of Scotch Whisky with the world.

With your help, I can complete the production of the first batch and have it imported for distribution in the United States. To achieve this, I need your help to complete: 

• Work with the importer on finalizing the production with the makers/distillery 
• Bottling, labeling and packaging costs
• Shipping, customs and warehouse storage in the US

How Kickstarter Works

To accomplish this, the goal is to raise $39,000 or more within a 40-day time period. I’ve created some amazing rewards to thank you for your generosity. It’s all or nothing, the project moves forward only if the goal is met. If not, you as a supporter will not be charged a penny.

As a San Francisco resident and backer of several projects, I’ve seen firsthand what a difference the Kickstarter community can make. I can’t do this without you!

For the last 10 years, I’ve had a love affair with Scotch. I’ve loved exploring its richness and complexities. I especially love that moment when I introduce someone to the right Scotch and see the look of surprise and delight spread across their face.

I developed blind tastings of over a hundred different types of Scotch to find the unique flavor profiles that appealed to a modern palate. Armed with this research, I began testing and tweaking variations after variations, until I knew it was perfect.

Then the real work began. 

• Researching and calling on over 80 distillers
• Carefully selecting an award-winning distiller to create the highest quality product
• Evaluating and securing the perfect importer that is completely aligned with the mission of this brand
• Spending long nights doing the painstaking work of building pricing, distribution, retail and marketing plans
• Working for over eight months designing a modern bottle and package to stand out from all the dusty stodgy bottles on the shelf
• Securing difficult and stringent approvals from the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau of the federal government and the Scotch Whisky Association

All of the major hurdles are complete AND there are people who are ready to buy it!

With your support, we can put SIA in the hands of people worldwide. The project is currently in the final stages of design and development, ready for production. Production date is tentatively scheduled for December 1 – with Whisky in hand delivered to the US in late January 2013 (It’s a 6-8 week cycle from when we say “go”).

HOW WILL THE FUNDS BE USED?

The main portion of funds received from our Kickstarter will go towards purchasing the actual spirit and glass as well as bottling costs and freight and taxes. The goal of this project is $39,000.

• For this initial run, each case comes to roughly $118 (quantity 250 cases) This cost includes liquid cost, glass order and etching, label printing, cork and cap purchase, foil and outer shipping box, bottling process costs, freight from Scotland and US taxes. Total $29,500.
• Rewards and fulfillment costs are roughly $6,500.
• Kickstarter and Amazon fees are very reasonable fees at 8-10% of the total (roughly $3,000) in order to make pledge fulfillment easy. They work hard to make this all work for us.

Once in hand, a very aggressive sales campaign will begin to make sure the first batch is sold quickly and a second, larger batch can be ordered and enjoyed. In exchange for your generous support, there are a number of rewards to enjoy as well as some pretty impressive recognition. I realize this is a group effort and thank the community profusely for its outstanding support.

SIA Scotch Whisky is a superior blended Scotch Whisky. It is distilled, matured and produced in Scotland. Blends are a combination of Speyside and Highlands with a small touch of Islay. SIA is accessible, inviting, smooth and easy to drink. It is delicious neat, on the rocks, or in a cocktail. Bottle is 750ml and Whisky is 43% ABV (86 Proof).

Professional Tasting Note #1: The color of this whisky is deep gold with yellow highlights. The nose is fresh and malty, with a bit of banana and fruit cake. The palate is well balanced with just the right amount of smokiness combined with a pear drop sweetness. The finish is long, smooth and refreshing.

Professional Tasting Notes #2: Nose: opens with toffee and spices, developing to a fresh citrusy quality before a liquorice character appears. Taste: initially, discover a sweet, ripe fruit quality running to more toffee plus a distinct vanilla style. Finish: the finish remains vanilla’d carrying a round and well balanced sweet & spicy quality.

Backers! Thank you! Because Kickstarter rules do not allow alcohol as a prize, below are some really creative rewards for your contribution that I hope you find exciting and thoughtful.

• Backer Party - An invitation to our Backer Party to thank our more committed supporters. Taste the first sips of SIA Scotch Whisky. Plus T-Shirt – Limited edition Project Backer shirt designed and printed in the USA.
• A SIA Scotch drink named in your honor on the SIA website.
• Event space rental in the loft featured in the video, accommodate your group of up to 75 people.
• Your name printed on a limited edition retail box.
• VIP access and the opportunity to help host at a cocktail or Whisky industry event- get a behind-the-scenes look
• How I did it – A two-hour consultation and a detailed step-by-step process on how to build your own spirit brand, workflow, processes and resources. If you are serious about starting your own brand, this will save you at least a year’s worth of research.
• Weekend in San Francisco in the loft shown below for up to 3 people includes a unique Scotch themed dinner prepared by an award-winning chef and a San Francisco Bay tour in a private airplane.
• 1,000 bottles of SIA Scotch Whisky will be named in your honor.

Please click the “pledge now” button and help bring SIA to life. 

Share this project with your friends and family, just getting the word out is very helpful.

An enormous thanks you, our backers, for your generous support of this project and my dream!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/siascotch/sia-scotch-whisky

Day one of the Kickstarter campaign for SIA Scotch Whisky, a woman-imagined and woman-run brand of Blended Scotch Whisky, was a huge success. The campaign is well on it’s way and I’m overwhelmed by how much love and support was felt from friends, family, former colleagues and from total strangers who are just big fans of what I’m doing. Below is a chart of the progress.

Stats show that projects that reach 30% within their first week have a 90% chance of success on KS. I’ve backed several projects myself and I love helping to fuel someone’s dream.

Please share the link below with friends you would like to have a drink with. For less than the cost of a couple of cocktails, you can fund a big crazy dream! Thanks, Carin

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/siascotch/sia-scotch-whisky/

Tomorrow marks a very exciting day. The Kickstarter project for SIA Scotch Whisky goes live. I will be posting a link here on the blog as well as on the Whisky Archive Facebook page for you to contribute and share with your scotch whisky loving friends! Thanking you in advance for your support. Crafting this new brand of spirit has been a dream realized and I couldn’t have done it without the support for the Whisky Archive community.

Last week I completed my 40 hour bartending certification course at the San Francisco School of Bartending. I signed up using a Living Social deal and was very happy to lean about their very flexible schedules. You can do weekends only, afternoons, or the one I chose, every evening from 6-9:30pm for 2 weeks straight. At the end you are quizzed on general knowledge and take a practical exam where you have to make 12 drinks (randomly selected from the 100+ drinks you learn to make) within a 7-minute time span.

I found everyone at the school, knowledgeable and genuinely interested in your success. They offer assistance in job placement and even help you with your resume.

The hope is that I can use this knowledge to further my mixology insight as I craft excellent Scotch cocktails, and now I’m officially licensed to pour at tasting events.

If you are interested in becoming a bartender, or just want to learn more about cocktails and have a good time while you are at it, I highly encourage you to take the course.

I may put this into practice and find a bar to tend once a week for fun and knowledge as I work on my “big secret project”…Stay tuned.