Rugby whisky is all for a great charity cause

A new whisky for Edinburgh Rugby has been released in time for Christmas – and it’s all for a great cause.

Glen Moray is releasing the exclusive Edinburgh Rugby Single Cask Private Edition Whisky.

Edinburgh Rugby teammates John Barclay , Scotland rugby captain, and Damien Hoyland, visited the Glen Moray Distillery in Elgin, Speyside and hand-picked the casks that were used to produce the limited edition run of 312 individually numbered bottles.

Glen Moray will be contributing 100% of the profits of the sale of the limited edition bottles to the rugby charity, Hearts and Balls.

Bottled from 2004 non-chill filtered Chardonnay Cask finish single malt, the whisky is 52.8% AbV and is a fitting example of how double maturation can bring out the best of both the wine and the whisky flavours.

Graham Coull, Glen Moray master distiller said: ‘As you would expect from two talented and dedicated rugby players, John and Damien threw themselves wholeheartedly into the cask selection process. It was never going to be easy for a flanker and a winger to agree on anything but we persevered, and after several attempts, we agreed on a wonderful 2004 Glen Moray finished in a Chardonnay wine cask.’

Scotland rugby captain John Barclay and Damien Hoyland visit the Glen Moray Distillery in Elgin

The Hearts & Balls Charitable Trust is a Scottish charity which exists to support rugby players and their families in the aftermath of injury on the field.

Glen Moray has chosen Hearts & Balls, as the work the charity does with players who have been injured through rugby is life changing and helps to ensure players retain a love for the game.

Edinburgh Rugby’s head of commercial, Ben Slater, said: ‘Rugby and whisky have had a long and fruitful association and as such we are very excited about this new Edinburgh Rugby whisky from Glen Moray.

‘It is fantastic to see Glen Moray working to support Hearts & Balls, one of our official charity partners and we are fully behind this new venture. I am sure our fans will support this very worthy cause.’

The whisky has an RRP of £100 for a 70cl bottle and is available from the Glen Moray Distillery.