Centenary whisky and gin project

Brian Rose talks us through the Centenary whisky and gin project

The idea of having a celebratory  RSCDS Centenary Whisky and Gin was first muted during Winter School just before the Covid pandemic started in 2020.

In March 2021 the idea resurfaced and Lorna Ogilvie asked Brian Rose to put together a proposal. To do this Brian consulted Ewan McIlwraith (World Whisky Awards and Scottish Field magazine whisky awards judge) of Robertsons of Pitlochry to assist, without Ewan’s help and expertise the project would not have succeeded.

The proposal was to have quality products but to keep the cost as low as possible. After some debate the proposal was accepted, with the gin to be launched in November 2022 at the AG weekend and the whisky at Winter School 2023.

The next challenges were to source a cask that would be ready for bottling in 2023 and decide on the taste profile of the gin.

The price of casks was rising rapidly as people started to reinvest and were gone before trying a sample was possible. In July 2021 Brian secured an untasted cask of Blair Athol (distilled in Pitlochry, the home of Winter School) that would be 10 years old on 23rd January 2023.

At the end of August a nervous panel assembled to taste a sample, was it going to be good enough for our members?!

Relief, it was good (in fact, it was very good) and did not need any further finishing. Now to sit and wait until after 23rd January 2023 to get it bottled ready for Winter School in mid-February.

For the gin, the decision was to produce a similar taste profile (a light citrus flavour) to Robertson's own award winning gin but use commercial rather than fresh botanicals to keep the cost down.  Other decisions were required, names for each of them, bottle shapes, labels, etc.

The Fasnacloich was a simple choice of name of the whisky. But to use it the RSCDS needed the permission of the current owner of the estate. Lorna Ogilvie undertook the task and rapidly secured permission. The gin name took a bit more deliberation (including a section of the forum at the 2021 AG in Perth). Finally The Eightsome Gin was adopted as it has universal appeal to all forms of Scottish Dancing.

The label designs were produced by the RSCDS in house graphics team. The desire was to match the style of the other promotional material being produced for the Centenary

200 bottles of the gin were distilled 2 days before the start of the Autumn Gathering weekend and successfully launched on the Saturday, along with an RSCDS tasting glass, with a swift run on sales.

The whisky proved a bit more troublesome, nothing moves without a bit of paper as initially no tax has been paid, so the authorities want to know where everything is at all times. 

Whisky labels also go through a detailed approval (including the font sizes) and after several amendments and illness at the printing works, they were printed in early February. The bottles had been obtained, but the stoppers got delayed as they were shipped from Italy, so had to be begged and borrowed from a number of sources.

To add to the complications, Ewan left to visit his son in Australia on 12th February. Brian therefore had a very quick learning curve in the hoops that have to be jumped through to get a cask bottled, taxes paid, paperwork signed etc. Two days before Winter School, a relieved Brian drove to Edinburgh to collect the first batch released from Bond (taxes paid) and the empty cask (the roof was open to dispel the fumes whilst driving back to Pitlochry! 🥴)

Thanks must go to Young Spirits in Edinburgh who in order to help meet the Winter School deadline achieved their quickest turn around from receiving the cask to bottles going out of the door.

Finally the whisky was in the right place at the right time and only had to be individually numbered , “1 of 316, 2 of 316” etc. Definitely a labour of love and not a drop was consumed!

Wednesday afternoon at Winter School saw the launch of The Fasnacloich where participants got the chance to taste it for the first time along with three other whiskies.

The tasting ended with participants being able buy bottles of the whisky and gin from Donna who works for Ewan. (In Scotland the premises and the seller have to be licenced to sell alcohol, therefore all sales have to go through Robertsons as the cost of the RSCDS getting licenced is prohibitive).

A “click and collect” service was set up for members to collect their pre-paid whisky and gin from Coates Crescent during the open day on 25th March and it is intended to operate this service for Summer School 2023 if there is sufficient demand.

S sales to the US and Canada have proved difficult; Robertsons of Pitlochry have found a company that can ship to some states in the USA. They are currently shipping a few test shipments to check the logistics. Keep an eye out for the next newsletter for an update. 

Shipping elsewhere have been successful with bottles being dispatched to Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Australia.

To date 135 of 316 bottle of whisky have been sold. We are currently awaiting the next batch of gin so keep an eye on our website and social media.  

You can purchase these Centenary products direct from Robertson's of Pitlochry:

 The Fasnacloich whisky     The Eightsome Gin (coming soon)

It is suggested that you email them before ordering if you are wanting to post to a non UK address to check postage/shipping costs.  info@robertsonsofpitlochry.co.uk