Campaign 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.…

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Having a ceilidh with Yalumba’s ‘Caley’

Peter Ranscombe rediscovers ‘the Great Australian Red’ – and suggests some affordable stepping stones along the way. THE world of wine is full of odd phrases: multiple glasses are served in “wine flights”, a liquid that hangs to the side of the glass is said to have “long legs”, and smells can sometimes – kindly…

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We all scream for ice cream…

TWO Scottish ice cream companies are bringng a sweet splash of sunshine to the autumn. Mackie’s is going to give one fan a lifetime’s supply of ice cream, while Spar is stocking a further nine flavours made by Equi’s. The winner of Mackie’s “Simple Pleasures” draw will be named on Monday. They will get two-litre…

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What makes Aldi’s new Scottish gin so special?

As the Old Curiosity Distillery prepares to restart its tours, Peter Ranscombe hears the story behind the gin it’s created for Aldi. GOOD things come to those who wait – or so the old saying goes. For Hamish Martin, that adage was certainly true. He took over a derelict site just south of Edinburgh in…

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Outdoor venue for Edinburgh Craft Beer Festival

ORGANISERS have moved Edinburgh Craft Beer Festival from The Biscuit Factory to The Corn Exchange’s outside venue. The event, which is due to take place on 9 and 10 October, will feature Scottish breweries including Fierce, Vault City, 71 Brewing, and new kid on the block Newbarns. Foreign breweries sending beer to the festival include…

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Tullibardine launches first tasting pack

A DISTILLERY has launched its first tasting pack, featuring whiskies flavoured using different types of cask. Tullibardine has assembled 50 millilitre samples of the four whiskies in its signature range. Its “Sovereign” single malt is matured in former bourbon whiskey casks, while the other three whiskies in the pack spent time at the end of…

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Glasgow rum distillers win business title

TWO Scottish rum makers have been hailed as the “young micro-entrepreneurs of the year”. Zander Macgregor and Allan Nairn won the title at the Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards and were given a £7,500 cash prize. They were nominated for the honour by DSL Business Finance, which lent them £45,000 to grow their company. The friends launched…

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Plans for Benbecula distillery unveiled

ISLANDERS could soon be sipping a locally-made whisky instead of collecting bottles from the beach if plans for a distillery on Benbecula are given the go-ahead. Father-and-son team Angus A MacMillan and Angus E MacMillan, who set up the Uist Distilling Company, will submit plans for a £6.5 million unit at Gramsdale. They say the…

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Round the world in 10 bank holiday rosés

With a bank holiday weekend dawning and – whisper it – decent weather forecast for Friday, Peter Ranscombe takes a whistle-stop world tour of rosé wine. FOLLOWING on from our last look at pink wines back in May, it feels like the right time to put on some rosé-tinted specs ahead of the early August bank…

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Senegal chef opens Glasgow debut site

A YOUNG chef who came to Scotland from Senegal just seven years ago is preparing to open his first restaurant. Modou Diagne is transforming the former “111 by Nico” site on Glasgow’s Cleveden Road into “111 by Modou“. The 46-cover restaurant will open next month with a reduce capacity of 28. Diagne began working for…

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