Whisky heavyweight in legal feud with US supplier

By Oliver Farrimond

LEADING Scots whisky firm Whyte & Mackay are embroiled in a major legal battle with their American distributors.

Following a successful 16-year partnership, Whyte & Mackay and stateside distributors Capstone have fallen out over an alleged unpaid sum of £240,000.

The row started when Whyte & Mackay started negotiations to buy Capstone earlier this year.

After discovering allegedly faulty paperwork in the distributors’ books, the whisky group sought to terminate the contract, claiming for unpaid fees of £240,000 for supplied whisky.

And now Capstone have counterclaimed for $10 million of damages, citing wrongful termination of their contract.

Experts warn for tough year for drinks giant Diageo

By Oliver Farrimond

CITY experts have warned that Scots drink giant Diageo could be “walking through treacle” over the next year.

Analysts have warned that mounting unemployment figures could lead to a dramatic drop in bar sales of the group’s flagship products.

Diageo, the makers of Smirnoff and Guinness, are planning to raise the prices of their American products to counteract the bleak forecast.

Analysts at financial advisory group Collins Stewart said: “A resurgence in Diageo profit growth is dependent upon a healthier on-trade in markets where unemployment remains stubbornly high.”

Scotland’s drinks make world’s top 100 brands list

By Andrea McCallum

SCOTLAND has been named as an alcohol superpower after nearly 20 of its drinks brands made the world’s top100 list.

In the Power 100 – an annual survey of the world’s leading drinks brands – 16 of Scotland’s alcoholic tipples made the grade.

And that total includes five brands in the top 20 with Johnnie Walker at number two, Chivas Regal at eight, Ballantine’s at ten, Dewar’s at 16 and J&B at 19.

New regulations to protect whisky industry

Whisky to have more protection from cheap imitations

By Cara Sulieman

NEW regulations come in to force tomorrow (Mon) to protect the reputation of Scottish whisky.

In an attempt to stop cheap imitations from tricking people into buying what they think is the real McCoy, rules on labelling have been stepped up.

Only whisky that has been bottled in Scotland will be allowed to carry the phrase “Scotch whisky” and it must be clear whether the water of life is a single malt or blend.

And a distillery name can only be used if the whisky was distilled there.

World’s largest bottle of whisky unveiled

By Alexander Lawrie

A TINY Scotch whisky distillery has made the Guinness Book of Records after producing the world’s largest bottle of whisky.

The massive bottle of single malt was filled by hand with105 litres of 14-year-old Tomintoul Speyside Glenlivet Scotch.

And when full, the giant five foot container holds the equivalent of 150 standard bottles.

The monster whisky bottle, which will be on permanent display at the Clockhouse in the village square at Tomintoul village, was the brainchild of the Tomintoul distillery and a local whisky shop.

And after filling the gigantic bottle, the huge cork had to hammered into place with a massive mallet.

Battle to save Johnnie Walker plant goes to Holyrood

By Oliver Farrimond

THE BATTLE to save hundreds of jobs at one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries entered was stepped up tonight as MSPs backed by workers took their fight to Holyrood.

Despite announcing profits of almost £2bn for the last year, drinks giant Diageo plans to axe 700 jobs at its Johnnie Walker plant in Kilmarnock as part of a 900 job cull.

Angry workers from the plant travelled to the Scottish Parliament, along with the whisky band’s iconic ‘Striding Man’ and the Johnnie Walker girls.

Gina McCurry, 52, has worked as a forklift driver at the Kilmarnock factory for 10 years, and said that the decision would “devastate” countless families.

She said: “Before this happened on 1 July I would have said that Diageo are great to work for, with excellent terms and conditions and family values.

“However since then it’s been a hammer blow to people of Kilmarnock and of Ayrshire.”

Smelly bus stops hit the capital

Scratch and sniff bus stop

By Cara Sulieman

NOT for nothing was Edinburgh once dubbed Auld Reekie.

With the ongoing bin strikes seeing stinking rubbish littering the streets, and rush-hour traffic clogging the roads and filling the air with fumes, a chance of a minute’s solace would sure come as a breath of fresh air.

Now commuters can do just that after two busy stops in Edinburgh were both fitted with unique push and sniff advertising boards, allowing them to enjoy a waft of the countryside on their way to work.

The new ads have been installed by Scotch Whisky Experience who are promoting a new sense room attraction at the museum.

Guru behind barcadi cat turns attention to Scotch whisky

By Domenica Goduto

THE WOMAN who turned Pot Noodle and Barcardi Breezers into household names is turning her attention to Scotch whisky.

Marketing guru Stella David has been tasked with giving the dram a “cooler” image, to appeal to younger drinkers.

Responsible for the iconic “Bacardi Cat”, who went on sneaky night-time excursions to clubs while his elderly owner was sleeping, David is credited with inventing the alcopop.

David, 47, will assume her new role as chief executive at William Grant and Son on August 10th, after leaving her job as Bacardi’s chief marketing officer earlier this month.

It is hoped that she will galvanize the whisky industry by increasing the drink’s appeal for a younger market, as well as becoming the first woman to head a whisky company, according the Scotch Whisky Association.

Whisky Galore returns to Scottish islands

By ALEXANDER LAWRIE

THE SCOTTISH islands made famous by the movie Whisky Galore! are to have their very own distillery – almost 200 years after the last one closed its doors.

Abhainn Dearg Distillery is the first legal whisky supplier to hail from the islands for 170 years, and the company is due to unveil a small selection of its spirit later this month.

Their single malt whisky is currently maturing in barrels and will be available for sale in two years time.

Based in Uig on the Outer Hebridean Island of Lewis, the tiny distillery is the most westerly whisky producer in the UK.

Distilling history on the island goes back to the early 1600s, and the last legal Hebridean distiller, Stornoway’s Shoehorn Distillery, closed for business in 1840.

The Shoehorn Distillery was owned and operated by former-Laird Sir James Mathieson, a teetotaler and reputed-opium baron, who built Lews Castle on the site.

But today, islanders say the Hebridean whisky production did not stop with the closure, but that it went “back to its roots”.

Scotch Whisky exports earn UK staggering £97 a second

By SHAUN MILNE

SCOTLAND’S whisky exports are earning the UK a staggering £97 a second, it was revealed today (Friday).

The national drink has also set a new record of £3 BILLION sales in a year – working out at 1080 million bottles.

And a breakdown of figures shows the French apparently losing their thirst for wine and brandy and turning instead to the water of life with the value of exports there up a mouth-watering 22 per cent.

The figures, published for the Scotch Whisky Association, reveal exports of malt whisky for 2008 topped £497m – up 9% on the previous year.

Blended whiskies were also up 9% at £2.43 billion. Scotch Whisky Association chairman Paul Walsh said he was pleased by the figures.