Membership has its rewards

Many of the Scotch Whisky sites have members' sections, where you agree to give them a little information about yourself and in return you get...well usually nothing.

I thought I'd do a little research and let you know what you get for providing your personal demographics.

The Glenlivet Society
As a member of the Glenlivet Society, you are entitled to 5 free personalized labels.
Three expression's labels are available - the 12 year old, French Oak Reserve, and the 18 year old.

You select which expression's label you want, personalize the label, and put in your order. What's nice about this is you can choose to have all 5 labels say the same thing such as "Merry Christmas from The Scotch Blog" or create a more personalized message for up to 5 friends - for example: "Dear Mr. Gates, I would love to be adopted."

When your labels arrive you simply place them over the original labels of the bottles you bought as gifts. What... you didn't think the label itself was the gift, did you?

I did this last year and gave 5 happy friends a nice bottle of Glenlivet.

Friends of Laphroaig
Friends of Laphroaig get something pretty special. Once registered you are given a square foot of Islay - really. Each plot is registered and you may visit it (or view your plot on the members website -  a virtual version, at least). And more importantly, since it is yours, you get to collect rent from Laphroaig – each year Laphroaig will pay you your rightful rent of one dram of Laphroaig. The catch is you have to collect in person.

For those of you who can't get to Islay each year to collect, Laphroaig has set up one of the most interactive and lively communities I've seen. To join, you must prove you've bought a bottle of Laphroaig; this is accomplished by providing the ISBN number from a bottle.

Balvenie Club
You don't get much for joining the Balvenie club...just a little more information.

Glenmorangie Kindred Spirits
Kindred Spirits members are entitled to a free copy of Graham Eunson's notebook - I haven't received one yet, so I can't tell you exactly what it is. UK members get a subscription to "The Tain Times."

And this is nothing to sneeze at: As a member of kindred Spirit you're entitled to a special deal at Glenmorangie House the five star country house hotel at Cadboll near Tain - you will receive a free room upgrade (depending on availability) and a complementary bottle of Glenmorangie Ten Years Old for you to enjoy during your stay.

BTW, Glenmorangie has one of the slowest sites I've ever had to endure.

The Ardbeg Committee
Ardbeg, The sister distillery of Glenmorangie, also offers a member area, though you don't get much for registering.

Bruichladdich Malt Crusaders
Bruichladdich doesn't ask for much, just an email, so you shouldn't expect much: Access to "The Laddie Letter" the distillery newsletter; The opportunity to become a Càirdean (pronounced "Carch-en" which is Gaelic for 'friends' or 'family'.

Diageo
Diageo is quite disappointing as they do not offer any sites that I'm aware of for specific distilleries.
The do have a site Malts.com which asks for an awful lot of information and is apparently only for residents of the UK.
They also have a Friends of the Classic Malts site which is apparently aimed at the US market. They also ask a lot of information - in return you'll get a subscription to The Quaich newsletter, apparently free admission to the Classic Malts distilleries (Dalwhinnie, Cragganmore, Lagavulin, Oban, Talisker, Glenkinchie), and a welcome pack. Unfortunately the site did not allow me to complete the registration process.

Bunnahabhain
Bunnahabhain is working on a new site. They are asking for name, email, and date of birth and will notify you when the site is live.

Isle of Jura Club
Viral marketing. By signing up friends as members as well, you'll both be entered to win a bottle of Superstition (I'm happy to add anyone who emails me, so we both get a shot :)) Standard Desktop backgrounds;  member's forum; Members get a free distillery tour. All in all, not much, but a clean site.

This was not meant to be an exhaustive list of distilleries with member sites, nor a full  review of what you get.

If you know of any more, please feel free to make a comment, or email me directly.
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Also a reminder that with the holiday season coming up, Doceon Press, the publisher of The Instant Expert's Gude to Single Malt Scotch has a great selection of whisky tasting glasses and whisky-themed framed art available as gifts. I undertand the Glenmorangie glasses are almost gone as are the Aberlour glasses.

Comments

[Harry]

If you're in an area which can receive them, Ardbeg Committee members can purchase special committee bottlings. Over here, membership means you get some marketing material in the mail.

Harry