A Perthshire distillery’s special whisky bottling is to raise cash for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA).
It is estimated that profits earmarked from the sale of the single malt from Pitlochry’s Edradour Distillery could raise more than £56,000 for the life-saving service.
Distillery owner Andrew Symington said the donation follows an emergency incident near the distillery attended by the SCAA.
He commented: “I witnessed first-hand the amazing work that SCAA does two years ago when they were called to a builder suffering a heart attack while working nearby in our remote part of the country above Pitlochry.
“Sadly, they were unable to save him, but their speed, agility in landing, and utter professionalism impressed me so much that I vowed Edradour Distillery would do something to help them in the future.”
Another air ambulance call out to a nearby farmer – and a personal frightening heart attack earlier this year – prompted him to action and maturing casks were identified for the fundraising bottling.
There are 2485 bottles in all of the SCAA labelled 10-year-old whisky matured in sherry butts in the Perthshire hills.
The historic distillery, established in 1825, was bought by Mr Symington in 2002 for £5.4million. Production in 2023 reached a record 300,000 litres.
Mr Symington said: “We’ve supported various charities over the years but there can be few as deserving as SCAA when you live in rural Scotland.
“It’s a vital lifeline for our rural communities and we’re delighted that the ‘water of life’ will go towards raising funds for the saving of lives.”
Edradour, which marks its 200th anniversary next year, plans to produce a limited special cask bottling for SCAA each year and hopes their initiative might encourage other distillers to do likewise.
Mr Symington added: “The whisky industry employs hundreds of staff at remote locations all across Scotland.
“No one ever knows where on when illness or injury can strike and rural employers like us should support SCAA to ensure that critical lifeline is there when needed.”
SCAA corporate partnerships manager Andrew Kernohan said the generosity of Edradour would make a significant impact on the charity and undoubtedly help save and improve lives in the future.
He added: “Our ambition is that no one in Scotland should die because help can’t reach them in time, but we can’t achieve that without the support of the people of Scotland and the huge generosity and innovative fundraising of companies such as Edradour.
“Edradour is one of the first Scottish businesses to commit to helping us achieve our ambition and we look forward to working with them in the future.
“Andrew Symington’s own experience of SCAA has reinforced his admiration of the charity and prompted this amazing fundraiser which we both hope will serve as a call to action for distilleries throughout Scotland.
“We can’t thank Edradour enough and hopefully all those enjoying a dram of this special malt by their fireside this Christmas will find it tastes all the sweeter for knowing they have helped support our life-saving service.”