The Glenrothes Vintage Maker 2012 Contest

Every year The Glenrothes Distillery in Speyside, Scotland holds a contest in which they invite entrants to describe a "vintage moment" in their life, some special event that remains in the memory forever afterwards and carries a significance that can be equated to the special qualities of a vintage single-malt scotch: "a perfect combination of time, place, people and even occasion, when everything comes together to create a moment that will stay in the memory forever." The grand prize in their Global contest, to be awarded to four people from around the world, is a chance to visit the distillery in May and participate in the preparation of this year's vintage.

I came across this contest in January while looking for ideas to promote Blood Passage and decided to post an entry in which I described receiving the proof copy of my novel from the printer. Holding the end result of two years' worth of hard work was very much a "vintage moment" for me, and I thought it equated well to the feeling a distiller would enjoy when the work on a new vintage was finally complete.

Imagine my shock when I was informed that my entry has been selected from thousands of worldwide submissions as one of the four Global winners! View the announcement here.

As a bourbon enthusiast, I can't remember ever having tasted a single malt scotch, as it has always been a little above my pay scale, but as you can imagine, I'm going to savor this opportunity!

Stay tuned for more blog posts as I get ready to set forth on what will be a remarkable adventure!