Whisky news round-up: Deacon Blue, festivals, and more

Peter Ranscombe sticks his tongue in his cheek to round-up the latest news from the world of whisky.

THE National Whisky Festival of Scotland returns to Edinburgh tomorrow.

The festival is back at Summerhall, the arts centre in the former Royal Dick Vet School near the Meadows.

Gareth Croll, the festival’s co-ordinator, said: “It’s such a fantastic feeling to be back out on the road with The National Whisky Festival of Scotland again, especially after such a tough couple years for the events industry.

“Now, building on the success of our debut Edinburgh event last year, we absolutely can’t wait to be back in Scotland’s capital city alongside some of the world’s best distilleries, musicians and bartenders.”

Last week, Glasgow-based independent bottler Caskade released “Born in a Storm”, a limited-edition single cask celebrating 35 years of Deacon Blue’s debut album, “Raintown”.

The whisky was made at a “secret location” on Orkney – you’ve got a fifty-fifty chance of guessing where – and was aged for 13 years in an ex-oloroso sherry cask.

Just 853 bottles of the whisky are being released.

In a statement, the band commented: “‘Born in a Storm’ is a bold and enduring spirit, which serves as an apt reflection of the people and places it was inspired by, and a perfect accompaniment to the record.”

The planning committee at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar – sometimes still known as Western Isles Council – has backed plans for gin-maker Isle of Barra Distillers to build a whisky distillery.

The £12 million project was also recommended by officials in the council’s planning department.

“There is still a long road ahead, but this is a huge step forward in the construction of the Isle of Barra’s first – legal – single malt whisky distillery,” said managing director Michael Morrison.

“To really grasp the impact of this, in terms of employment opportunities, if the same development was built in Glasgow, the impact on jobs per head of people would be 23,000 in the first year and, by year ten, it would create 64,000 jobs.”

Read more news and reviews on Scottish Field’s food and drink pages, in association with Cask & Still magazine.

Plus, don’t miss Blair Bowman’s whisky column in the January issue of Scottish Field magazine.