With kind support from Balmoral Estate and Royal Lochnagar Distillery, the Aberdeen Association’s 2022 AGM took place on Thursday 16th June 2022 at Balmoral Estate, Ballater.
Taking advantage of the unique location, Grantees and their partners were treated to morning and afternoon tours of Balmoral Estate and Royal Lochnagar Distillery.
Guests enjoyed a guided tour of the grounds and gardens at Balmoral Castle, the Scottish home of the Royal Family since it was purchased for Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in 1852. The highlight of any visit to Balmoral is the Ballroom and our visit was extra special with the opportunity to view ‘The Salmon School’ installation. The Salmon School, founded by Joseph Rossano, is an international performative project that contextualises the finality of a seemingly infinite resource and seeks to restore dwindling salmon populations through a merger of art, science and community. The physical artwork is the first contemporary art installation at Balmoral, presented as a temporary sculpture consisting of 250 mirrored glass forms, suspended as if a school of wild salmon.
Lochnagar distillery combines the traditional pagoda kiln heads and techniques like the open mash tun with a whisky visitor centre to share the story of Royal Lochnagar and its malt whisky. As well as leaning more about how whisky is made, guests enjoyed a tutored tasting of four whiskies, each specially selected from the collection of casks in the Duty Paid Warehouse at Royal Lochnagar Distillery.