Diageo rolled out the barrel for Scottish Rugby’s official charity, the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.
Rugby legend and inspirational Motor Neuron Disease campaigner Doddie Weir visited Diageo’s new Scottish headquarters in Edinburgh to accept the donation of a cask of Scotch whisky to raise money for his My Name’5 Doddie Foundation to find a cure for MND.
Johnnie Walker and Guinness owners Diageo donated the cask to mark the official opening of the company’s new offices and as part of its support for Scottish Rugby ahead of the forthcoming Guinness Six Nations season.
Doddie was joined by another Scottish rugby hero Chris Paterson – Scotland’s all-time leading points scorer – to represent Scottish Rugby, which supports the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation as one of its Official Charities.
The 2020 Guinness Six Nations Championship is the first to feature the world’s most popular Scotch Whisky Johnnie Walker as official whisky partner of Scottish Rugby and of the Guinness Six Nations.
Ewan Andrew, President of Diageo Global Supply and Procurement, who leads Diageo’s manufacturing operations around the world from the Edinburgh office, welcomed Doddie and Chris to the new offices and announced the cask donation.
He said: ‘Doddie Weir is an inspiration to people everywhere with the remarkable bravery of his campaign. It was a privilege to welcome him to our new offices and to share his incredible campaign with our people.
‘We have a powerful connection with rugby through our Guinness title partnership of the Six Nations Championship and our Johnnie Walker partnership with Scottish Rugby. What better way to celebrate these partnerships and to mark our move to our new office than by supporting Doddie and his campaign.’
Doddie said: ‘I am delighted to accept the donation of this cask of Glenkinchie single malt whisky for my foundation. The momentum behind the campaign keeps growing and it’s terrific to see companies like Diageo and brands like Johnnie Walker stepping up to show their support and to raise funds.’
Scottish Rugby ambassador Chris Paterson said: ‘As Doddie continues to inspire us all with his fight against MND, it’s great to see not only the rugby community continue to rally together to support the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, but iconic brand and valued Scottish Rugby partner, Johnnie Walker, joining the fight.’
A ceremonial cask was unveiled at the Diageo Edinburgh event with Doddie. Diageo will now work with the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation team to select a cask of Glenkinchie single malt and to have it bottled for the charity. Glenkinchie Distillery in East Lothian is the closest Diageo distillery to Doddie’s Borders homeland. The distillery is also the Lowland Home of Johnnie Walker with a new state-of-the-art visitor experience due to open later this year.
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