Posts by Peter Ranscombe
Glasgow Gin brings Wellington statue to life
ONE of Glasgow’s best-loved landmarks has been brought to life through an advertising campaign for one of the city’s gin brands. Glasgow Gin is made at the city’s Illicit Spirits Distillery on behalf of Edinburgh-based Gleann Mòr, which was launched in 2013 by Derek and Karin Mair, whose brands also include Firkin Gin and Leith…
Read MoreWhy buying wine can also mean planting trees
A new project that links buying wine to planting trees has got Peter Ranscombe pondering the environment. IT’S not every day that you open a box of wine and find a tree poking out. Let me explain – the tree in question was a crab apple sappling. And it was sent as possibly the weirdest…
Read MoreA very special whisky – from The Wine Society
Peter Ranscombe tastes the first whisky from the society’s reserve cask selection. WITH a name like “The Wine Society”, it may not be the first place you’d think to look for a bottle of Scotch. But the society – or “The International Exhibition Co-operative Wine Society” to use its Sunday name – has form when…
Read MoreA week in whisky: Online, online and – erm – online
AS LIFE moves online once more, Scotland’s distillers are making the most of virtual opportunities. A team of 200 members of staff at Whyte & Mackay walked, ran, rowed or cycled 50,000 miles to raise ÂŁ114,841 for mental health charities. Workers in Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, the United…
Read MoreCampaign drives interest in North East 250
INTEREST in the North East 250 driving route has shifted up a gear following an online marketing campaign. The number of times pages were viewed on the North East 250 website accelerated from fewer than 8,000 in the month before the first phase of the campaign began to nearly 120,000 during the campaign’s final month.…
Read MoreBrewers go direct as pubs close
SCOTLAND’S breweries are stepping up direct sales to consumers amid the latest coronavirus restrictions on pubs. Bars cannot currently sell alcohol indoors, with those in the Central Belt closed completely. Alva-based Harviestoun Brewery has lifted the lid on how the latest restrictions are hitting its business. Joint managing director Stu Cook said: “This is a…
Read MoreTwo Scottish sites among ‘museums of the year’
A PAIR of Scottish attractions has been named among the “museums of the year” by Art Fund. Aberdeen Art Gallery and Gairloch Museum were two of the five sites that shared this year’s prize. Each museum will receive ÂŁ200,000. Councillor Marie Boulton, Aberdeen City Council’s culture spokeswoman, said: “Covid-19 abruptly halted the fantastic momentum that…
Read More‘Smart village’ needs young people
THE world’s first “smart village” for young people is on the hunt for digital champions aged 18 to 28 from across Angus, the Borders, Lanarkshire, the Outer Hebrides, and rural Perth and Kinross. A total of 12 digital champions will work with Scotland’s Rural Youth Project to help develop a pioneering “smart village” centred on…
Read MoreIndependent schools of the year named
TWO Scottish institutions have won prizes at the 2020 Independent Schools of the Year Awards. Strathallan School in Perthshire was crowned as the independent school of the year for international student experience, while George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh was named as the independent pre-prep school of the year. Mark Lauder, Strathallan’s headmaster, said: “We are…
Read MoreSpeyside farm lands Harvey Nics deal
WOOL throws made by a farm and woolmill in Speyside are going on sale in department store chain Harvey Nichols’ Edinburgh and London branches. Dalrachie Farm, which rears cattle and sheep in Ballindalloch, is run by Alan and Sarah-Jane Forbes, who sell wool clipped from their flock of 350 North Country Hill Cheviot ewes to…
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