On 20 December 2005, Aberlour International Brand Ambassador Ann Miller received a call on her mobile telephone. The caller was Duncan Elphick, proprietor of the Highlander Inn at Craigellachie, who had a special request to make on behalf of two of his guests.
The Aberlour Distillery Visitors Centre had closed for the Christmas holiday but, explained Duncan, the couple in question had come all the way from Stockholm and desperately wanted to go on the tour. When Ann learnt just how desperately, she offered to conduct them around the distillery herself.
Amanda Martin and Joakim Welander had come to Aberlour for a very particular reason: to exchange engagement rings. They had planned the trip some six weeks earlier and were, says Amanda, “quite devastated” when they discovered on arrival that the distillery was closed. Not least because both rings had been engraved with the all-important date: 21/12/2005. It was then that Duncan Elphick made his call.
At 11.30 on Wednesday the 21st, Amanda and Joakim, accompanied by Angie, barmaid at the Highlander Inn, and Martin Markvardsen, whisky manager at the nearby Craigellachie Hotel, arrived at the distillery. There they were met by Ann Miller and the tour got underway.
When they reached the still room, the heart of the distillery, Joakim made his move. He presented Amanda with a bunch of red roses and read out an eloquently written speech. “I had no idea about the speech,” says Amanda, “it made me cry.” The rings were exchanged at the right moment and, as luck would have it, on the right date. The happy couple then toasted their future together with Aberlour 16 Year Old, while Angie captured it all on camera.
But why was the Aberlour Distillery chosen for such a momentous occasion? Very simply, because it was Aberlour that had fuelled their romance. As Amanda recalls: “When we first met I had a collection of malt whisky. My favourite, the one label I had the most bottles of, was – and still is – Aberlour. The strange thing is that Joakim’s collection was exactly the same. We both had Aberlour as our top label!” They were clearly made for each other.
Amanda is an air stewardess with SAS, Joakim a driving instructor with his own business. With her feet on the ground, Amanda is a crack shot at clay pigeon shooting. She is the Swedish women’s champion and picked up a bronze medal at the 2004 world championships. She has been giving Joakim shooting lessons and, not to be outdone, he has taught Amanda how to ride a motor bike.
For the record, their whisky collections (soon presumably to be one large one) include Aberlour 10yo, 12yo, 15yo, 16yo, 1993 edition and a’bunadh. They hope to add 30 Year Old to the list when they attend the Aberlour Distillery Whisky Dinner in April, and revisit the site of their betrothal.
For Amanda and Joakim, the spirit of Aberlour will always be a romantic one.
Send a Goodwill Message to the Happy Couple
All the Aberlour team send their very best wishes to Amanda and Joakim. If you would like to send them a goodwill message too, just write it below and we’ll post it on the “Happy Couple” page.
|
|
Amanda and Joakim pose by an old distillery photograph.
|
Amanda enjoys a dram with Ann Miller, Aberlour's International Brand Ambassador.
|
On bended knee, Joakim makes his speech.
|
Comparing rings after the happy event.
|
|
