On September 27th and 28th, 2024, the fourteenth meeting of miniature bottle collectors was held in Segovia, with a record participation, with a total of 76 attendees, including companions, representing Far Eastern countries, such as Singapore and China, India, American countries such as Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Chile or Colombia, and European countries such as France, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Turkey, and of course Spain.
It was a very special meeting, since at that time and in 2010, the first (and only) Spanish American Meeting of collectors was held in the same city, and the same distillery was visited, which was used to start up by the attendees, the founding document of the Club Español de Coleccionistas de Botellitas de Licor (CECBL), which officially hold its first meeting as such, in the city of Chinchón (Madrid) one year later in 2011.
Images of the attendees to the I Encuentro Hispanoamericano de coleccionistas de botellitas de licor, germ of the current CECBL, and the front and back of the membership card of the Club’s member no. 1.
Unfortunately, some of the participants in that meeting have passed away during the journey, like Derman Villegas from Peru and some others have not been able to join us, but, on the contrary, since then, many new members have joined the Club, the last one being Joaquín Rey, who became a member precisely during the celebration of the meeting. Having remembered those moments in which our club began to walk, let’s go to say how has it been our get together meeting this year.
On Friday, the 26th, throughout the afternoon a good part of the attendees began to arrive at the Hotel Cándido, approximately two thirds of them; the rest would be joining us throughout the next day, as their agenda’s obligations permitted. That night, and in the same hotel, a cocktail was held, which we could call “inauguration cocktail”, very useful to warm up the engines and introduce the participants who were attending a meeting for its first time.
The welcome cocktail was held in this noble hall of the Hotel Cándido, where old acquaintances met again and new members were introduced, while we enjoyed a varied and exquisite menu.
The day after, friday, early in the morning, the classic tourist day began. We left the hotel by bus on our way to the nearby town of La Granja de San Ildefonso. Instead of heading directly to La Granja we took a tour around the city which allowed us to enjoy views of a good part of the aqueduct and the Alcázar. We made a short stop to take the first photos of the group with the Alcázar as background.
Photo of the group, with the Alcázar of Segovia in the background, during the tour of the city, before the incorporation of more members that same afternoon.
Back on the bus and after few minutes, we arrived at La Granja. We then walked to the Royal Palace where, on a guided tour, we were able to see the different rooms of the palace and its extensive gardens. As a curiosity, we will say that the King of Spain and first Borbon, Felipe V, is the only King of Spain who is not buried in the Royal Site of El Escorial, being buried with his wife Isabel de Farnesio, because of his wish, in the room of the relics of the Real Colegiata de la Santísima Trinidad of this Royal la Granja Palace.
Images taken during the guided tour of the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso and its extensive and grandiose gardens.
After this visit, we went to the Royal Factory of Glass of La Granja, located in the city itself and very close to the Royal Palace. Once again, with a guided tour, we were able to see the facilities and see the different glass handling processes.
Again with the interesting explanations of our guides, we were able to see the laborious process of elaboration and manipulation of glass in the Real Fábrica de Cristales de la Granja, as well as a small sample of the work they do.
After the visit and with very little time, we moved to La Golondrina restaurant, just 100 metres away from the Royal Glass Factory. Lunch was quite busy because of the wide variety of options to choose from, but finally, everyone was able to try what they had previously selected. After lunch and jointly with a good part of the rest of the participants who were arriving to the meeting, we proceeded to visit the DYC distillery, in Palazuelos de Eresma, which today forms part of the SUNTORY Group. This visit was led by Alejo Saade and Elena Esteban, who enlightened us about the origin and history of the distillery, the first whisky distillery in Spain founded in 1958, which started in business in 1963 and which today produces a volume of 11 million bottles of high quality products, ranging from the classic blended to the DYC 20 Grandes Maestros (Great Masters). During the visit, we tasted their main products.
The group that joined DYC on Friday afternoon for lunch at La Golondrina restaurant, and a partial view of the tasting session during the guided tour of the distillery facilities.
Nueva foto de grupo, esta vez ante la entrada a las instalaciones de Destilerías DYC.
After finishing it we went back to the hotel, and after a short break, we boarded the bus that took us to the ZIBÁ restaurant, where we enjoyed a memorable dinner, tasting a magnificent roast suckling pig, a classic of the area and the city, a real pleasure for the mouth. On this occasion, Mr. Man Chan, President of the collectors clubs of Hong Kong and China, performed the well-known ceremony of cutting the roast suckling pig with the plate and breaking it by throwing it against the floor at the end of that ceremony.
After desserts, Mr. Alejo Saade Uncal was awarded with the honorary membership card of the club, an appointment that had been agreed by the Board of Directors for the work, help and deference towards the club from his position in the DYC distillery.
In these two photos we can see Mr. Man Chan performing the famous ceremony of cutting the suckling pig with the plate and presenting Alejo Saade Uncal with the club’s honorary membership card.
Then the traditional auction of special bottles was held, and as usual very lively and excellently directed by our member Alberto Durán. Regrettably, this auction had to be stopped unexpectedly because the bus that was due to take us back to the hotel and its driver had another service early the next day and because of the legal obligation to respect the mandatory resting time for the bus driver, they were forced to make the transfer on time. However, the auction was completed the day after, during the trading day.
Presentation of the auction of special pieces by the Club’s president, Manuel Viceira, with Alberto Durán, as is traditional, acting as auctioneer.
On Saturday morning we went back to the DYC facilities, who were kind enough to lend us their facilities for our usual day of trading mini bottles, which took place along the gallery on the upper floor of the courtyard of the main building of their facilities.
As every year, numerous tables were set up for the exchange of minibottles.
And, also like every year, the exchange session was very lively and well attended.
During the mid-morning coffee break, the commemorative miniature of the meeting was presented, a malt from the Chichibu distillery distributed by the Dutch company Salud B.V. belonging to the series of the Seven Gods of Fortune, specifically that of the god Fukurokuju.
Presentation of the miniature produced by Salud B.V., the Dutch distributor of Chichibu whisky, exclusively for the club.
Then, to everyone’s amazement, Miguel Ángel Domínguez surprised all of us with a self made limited edition creation to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the celebration of the First Spanish-American Meeting of Liquor Minibottle Collectors, in this same city and in the same distillery, which was delivered to all participating members, respecting the same membership number that was assigned to the participants of that founding meeting in 2010 with a warm dedication in the back and to the most recent ones with their corresponding membership number. It is a miniature of 14-year-old TOMINTOUL “SEGOVIA EDITION”, which includes on its label a beautiful image of the Segovia Aqueduct, undoubtedly an unforgettable memory for everyone. THANK YOU VERY MUCH Miguel Ángel!
The president presenting the memory made by Miguel Ángel Domínguez of the I Spanish-American Meeting of Liqueur Minibottle Collectors, and the 2010 group today.
The trading session herewith resumed, preceding the auction of the pieces that had not been auctioned the night before.
At midday, the cocktail-lunch was served outdoors in the courtyard, where, apart from the food that was served, we were able to taste a variety of whisky-based cocktails that delighted all the attendees. Elena Esteban Herranz was presented with the club’s Honorary Membership card, which had been approved by the Board of Directors together with her colleague Alejo Saade and for the same reasons.
There was also a raffle for two very special miniatures, after the corresponding tickets had been sold and which had been donated by Mr. Man’s Chan, consisting of a blown glass still made in China by “The Chuan” distillery, part of the Pernod Ricard group, containing a spirit (which, aged for at least three years, becomes whisky) and presented in a beautiful case together with an elaborate stand, as well as an extraordinary miniature of “Karuizawa” single malt whisky bottled by Elixir Distillers, for the Hong Kong club to conmemorate its 30th anniversary. The winners were Josefina and Francisco Palou of the Chinese miniature and our dear Secretary, Alberto Puga, who went back home with the grand prize.
In the first picture you can see Elena Esteban Herranz, granddaughter of the founder of DYC Distilleries, during the visit, not yet aware that we had named her Honorary Member of the club, and then the drawing of the Chinese miniatures, carried out by Elena Esteban herself, as well as the delivery by Mr. Man’s Chan, donor of these miniatures, to the two lucky winners.
After this exciting event, the annual mandatory general meeting of the Club was held, and all the points of the agenda were approved. Finally and after a long debate, it was finally agreed that the data and place for the next meeting, to be held on September 26th and 27th, 2025, would be the city of Jerez de la Frontera, in Andalusia.
The day finished with the transfer of the participants to the Claustro (cloister) of the Hotel San Antonio el Real, where the farewell dinner-cocktail was held. During the course of the dinner, the President presented an Honorary Member card, duly framed, to Mr. Felipe Pérez Carballo, a close collaborator and architect of our new corporate website, as a gratitude from the Club for the long time dedicated, and who in an emotional speech said he was pleasantly surprised by the degree of brotherhood and friendship existing in the Club, undoubtedly that of a very closed family that not only enjoys its hobby, but also the friendship between the members of the Club.
Also, the President, proceeded with the deliveries of the awards to the champion and runner-up of the 2024 hobby competition that Alberto Puga prepares annually. They were Manuel López, runner-up, and Francisco Palou, champion, who received their framed awards and a bottle of DYC 15 years personalized with the mention of the position achieved in the competition.
The winners of the Pastime Competition 2024, and a surprised and excited Felipe thanking him for his appointment as honorary member.
In these group photos of the closing cocktail at the San Antonio el Real hotel, you can see in the faces of the attendees the good atmosphere that reigned throughout the Meeting.
We finish this chronicle with our most sincere thanks to Destilerías y Crianza del Whisky (DYC) for their warm welcome and facilities provided to the Club, as well as to the Organizing Committee of the meeting, to the members of the Board, especially involved in the auction, for their great work and dedication, to the “auctioneer” and to each and every one of the attendees at the meeting who in many cases have had to make long transatlantic journeys, either by air or by car.
Segovia, October 3, 2024
Luis Campos Serna
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