Enjoy a dram good time at Boswell Book Festival

Whisky and book enthusiasts are set to come together to spend an afternoon sampling some of Scotland’s ‘long lost’ malts.

Dram and novel lovers have been invited to spend an afternoon sampling the whiskies during three exclusive masterclasses held in collaboration with a high-profile book festival.

The Lost Distillery Company, part of the award-winning boutique drinks company Crucial Drinks, will host a series of whisky masterclasses at Dumfries House estate as part of the renowned Boswell Book Festival on Saturday 5 May.

The event will offer members of the public an exclusive opportunity to step inside The Lost Distillery Whisky Room, traditionally only used to entertain corporate partners, to sample the company’s extensive portfolio of award-winning blended Scotch whisky inspired by the flavour profiles of long-closed Scottish distilleries.

Crucial Drinks’ global ambassador Ewan Henderson will fly home from a whisky tour of Hong Kong to deliver the masterclass and share his expertise.

He said: ‘For Boswell Book Festival 2018, The Lost Distillery Company’s masterclasses will explore the story of Scottish lost distilleries, archived and reborn by our team from our home on Dumfries House estate. One hundred years ago, Scotland lost half of all distilleries and we feel it’s a tragedy to lose such heritage. We will share our carefully curated blended malt whiskies and the stories of these legendary distilleries through the history books.

‘We’ll also weave in on our local Ayrshire roots, and the legend of James Boswell.

‘We have pored over the history books to bring these whiskies alive. This is the first time we have been part of the wonderful Boswell Book Festival and it should be a very special experience to savour.’

Named after James Boswell, the first modern biographer, the Boswell Book Festival is the world’s only literary festival of biography and memoir.

This year, the festival will celebrate its eighth year with a diverse programme of talks, performances and workshops by writers, actors and artists.

Well-known guests of this year’s festival, including Dame Judi Dench, Alexander McCall Smith, Helen Pankhurst and Mary Killen and Giles Wood from TV’s Googlebox, are to be invited to partake in a whisky masterclass with Ewan while in East Ayrshire.

Crucial Drinks was founded by Ayrshire natives Brian Woods and Scott Watson in 2013. The company was born out of a shared vision to develop a world-class whisky and rum portfolio with unique heritage and brand stories as well as a desire to help regenerate East Ayrshire by creating employment for local people. The company is based at Dumfries House, one of Scotland’s finest stately homes and estates.

Brian Woods, co-founder of Crucial Drinks, said: ‘As an Ayrshire company, we are always looking for different ways to engage with the local community. We are delighted to partner with the Boswell Book Festival to welcome members of the public into our whisky room to discover The Lost Distillery family.’

The Lost Distillery Masterclasses will take place at 11.15am, 2pm and 4.45pm on Saturday 5 May. To purchase tickets, priced from £20, visit Waterstones in Ayr or call the Boswell Book Festival box office on 01563 554 900. Tickets include a 10% discount off any products purchased on the day.

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