It is quite a while since I had this unusual set out and had forgotten just how beautiful and unusual the artwork and design is.
While it is just the Catan base game underneath, the unique hex design, artwork and presentation makes this version feel very different to play.
This game was the first customised promotional game made. In this game the resources are stones, barley, wood, peat, and water and you build roads, distilleries (settlements) and distilleries with attached stables (cities). All the cards, hexes, rules, game box are customised to reflect the client, Glen Grant Distillery.
For those who do not recognise it the Das Wasser set was made only as a promotional item and not released for public sale (apart from once - see text below the photo*). It was released in 1997 for Glen Grant Distillery in Scotland and came in a custom tin case that looks like a whisky container. While there was an earlier 1996 Panasonic promotional set released it was only the standard Catan box with overprinted text. It did not feature custom artwork and hexes, and definitely did not include the miniature bottle of whisky that came with this Glen Grant set.
No-one is quite sure of the total numbers produced however in one of my first blog items I did mention I was told by a former Kosmos employee that he believed there were between 2,000 and 3,000 copies of the first version, but only around 1,000 to 1,500 copies of the second embossed version.These numbers have not been confirmed though. Regardless of the exact amount these are rare variations and they will always be collectible as examples of the very first time Catan was modified into a variation to meet a client's marketing promotion.
* NOTE ON SALES
While this game was a promotional giveaway for Glen Grant, the set did appear for sale once. This rare opprtunity to buy was only for members of the Catan Club in the 1/98 issue of the newsletter. In here it had the following small article:
"Spiele-Sammler aufgepabt - dies .ist lhre ultimativ letze Chance! Der KOSMOS SIEDLER-Club hat sich die einzigen noch existierenden Exempler des "Wasser des Lebens" - besser bekannt als die Whisky-SIEDLER - in der charakteristisch goldfarbenen Blechdose gesichert! Nur uber uns konnen Sie noch diese wundererschon adaptierte Version des SIEDLER-Spiels zum Preis von 49.90DM plus 6DM Versandpauschale erwerhen. Muchten auch Sie den Original-Whisky-SIEDLER? Dann melden Sie sich elnfach helm SIEDLER-Club, und schwuppdiwupp sind Sie im schottischen Hochland!"
This translates to
"Attention game collectors - this is your ultimate last chance! The KOSMOS SETTLERS Club has secured the only surviving examples of the "Water of Life" - better known as the Whiskey SETTLERS - in the characteristic gold-colored tin can! Only through us you can purchase this wonderfully adapted version of the SETTLERS game for the price of 49.90DM plus 6DM shipping fee. Do you also like the original Whiskey SETTLERS? Then sign up for the SETTLERS' club and you're in the Scottish Highlands!"