Well we had the perfect start to the day with heavy snow falling over night and through out the day it made an ideal setting for our Christmas Party.
The snow plows kept the roads cleared though so everyone could get through the glen and join in the fun.
Boots Bar all set up
As the day went on it was finally time to shut the bar for a few hours while we set up and made some final touches.
The Boots Bar scrubs up pretty well with the fires roaring and a few Christmas decorations.
Snug Bar all set up
Once everone was in and settled with a glass of mulled cider it was time to eat. Kurt and Graeme did a great job with the Hog Roast yet again and we also need to give a big thanks to our Kitchen team for preparing the rest of the evenings meal. It was fantastic.
Look at all that crackling
Santa himself even made an appearance to make sure all the good boys and girls got a wee present at the end of their meal. Luckily no one got a lump of coal this year.
Santa and his "wee" helper have just appeared
And to finish off a great evening Mak-A-Din were back providing another fantastic nights entertainment. Its always nice to have a wee dance to work of some of that feast. A wee heel toe and away we go.
Mak-A-Din providing the evenings entertainment
Hope to see you all over Hogmanay. Have a Merry Christmas.
After months of planning Octoberfest seemed to fly by. We had a lot going on from Pub Quizzes and Pool Comps to Whisky and Gin Tasting. All in all we feel it was a great success.
Prizes very kindly donated from the Breweries we work with
First of all we would
like to thank all the breweries who very kindly donated fantastic prizes for
Octoberfest to help raise money for the Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team. In total
between all our fund raising we managed to raise £629 for the GMRT.
Limited Edition Octoberfest 2017 T-Shirt
This year we were very
excited to release some brand new products and bring back an old one. It has
been several years since we had an Octoberfest T Shirts. Probably at least 8
years when Atlas Brewery moved to Orkney. We would lank to that Cairngorm Brewery
and Loch Lomond Brewery for sponsoring the T Shirt.
Getting the cellar ready for Octoberfest
On opening night we
released our Clachaig Mocha Stout which we brewed in collaboration with Loch
Lomond to Guys own recipe.
Our collaboration with Loch Lomond Brewery
Then during our Gin
tasting we released our Clachaig Gin. We only took delivery of the Gin the day
before the tasting after months of planning. The Gin is available to buy the
bottle online or at the Inn.
Our brand new Clachaig Gin launched at the Gin Tasting
A record number of
people (43) attended the Gin tasting.
Gins used at the Gin Tasting
Gin Tasting
Kevin presenting the winners of the Gin Tasting Raffle with their bottle of Rock Rose
We also seen record
numbers participating in our Pub Quizzes surely because of the great prizes on
offer. Jon the winner of our second pool competition last Octoberfest won both
competitions this year. Will he be back next October to defend his title?
Winner of both Pool Competitions
We
also had a visit from some of our local CAMRA Highland & Western Isles members. Chairman Simon Urry
accommpanied by fellow member David Vincent and tasting panel
coordinator Eric Mills
Highland and Western Isles CAMRA members
This year at our
Whisky tasting we focused on the Loch Lomond Group showing all the different
styles they offer from the Distilleries at Loch Lomond and Glen Scotia.
Whiskies used for the Whisky Tasting
Whisky Tasting
Staff enjoying the Whisky Tasting
Kevin presenting the winner of the Whisky Tasting Raffle with a bottle of Clachaig 10 year old single malt
We had some great bands
playing this Octoberfest with Calum MacPhail and Sean Cousins opening
Octoberfest on Friday 13th. The Lewis Hamilton band followed on 14th.
Then local band Hò-rò were back on Saturday 21st. The video we
shared on our Facebook reached 23,500 people which is amazing. You can see the
video below. Then Mad Ferret closed out Octoberfest on Halloween weekend which seen
lots of people get in the spirit of Halloween with some great costumes.
