Back in May I entered a Force India competition, run by Whyte & Mackay. Shortly thereafter, I got an email from Jill at W&M saying that I had won!
My prize: a Force India polo shirt and a bottle of whisky. Nice, very nice. I cheekily asked if it was possible to get Whyte & Mackay’s Master Blender, Richard Paterson, to autograph the bottle for me. Jill replied saying that she would ask Richard but I’d need to be patient as they were out of the office.
About two weeks later my Force India shirt arrived and I pledged my allegiance to the team, and have worn it every F1 race day since. I stopped following F1 a few years back, but now I’m hooked again! Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil are talented young drivers that are giving a really good showing. Here’s hoping for a lot more points for the Force India team in the 2nd half of the season. If you want to keep up to date with the team, follow @ClubForce on Twitter.
As for my bottle of whisky, well… I waited, and waited a bit more. The Nose‘s hectic touring schedule meant that my bottle was gathering dust at W&M headquarters while he was enlightening the masses as to the correct way to enjoy a whisky.
A couple of days ago, my patience was rewarded! A decidedly whisky-shaped parcel bearing the W&M stamp was waiting for me at the Post Office. I gave the parcel a sniff (to the bemusement of the lady behind the counter) and there was no whiff of alcohol – the bottle had arrived intact!
After unpacking the bottle from its Styrofoam safe haven, there was a happy reunion between it and the polo shirt. Whyte & Mackay and Force India, a strong partnership indeed!
And what does Richard’s John Hancock look like? See for yourself…
I’ve been debating whether I should crack the seal on the bottle and have decided not to. For now, it’ll stay safely tucked away in my whisky cabinet. However…
Richard, if you’re reading this, there is a bottle here with your name on it (literally). You have an open invitation to come to South Africa and I’ll happily open the ‘special’ bottle of W&M Special and share a few drams with you.
Sláinte!
Mark, that’s a whisky coup! Patterson is a legend – perhaps you’ve seen him at Whisky Live in SA in the past?
Whatever you do, don’t crack that seal (unless you can get Patterson to join you). If you really want to taste the W&M Special just let me know next time you place an order and I’ll include a bottle of Special at cost with pleasure (I must just double-check with the suppliers that they have stock as I don’t carry it at the moment).
Thanks for the offer Paul, I’ll definitely take you up on your offer. My last bottle of W&M Special was polished off in a night when I had family visiting. 🙂
Last year was my first Whisky Live, so I haven’t seen Richard yet, but I’m hoping my constant suggestions and nudges on Twitter will get Richard thinking about heading out this way again.