Whisky smugglers
Whisky smuggling special blend sales raise $11,000
Alex and Nick Ravenhall — two Kiwi brothers based in the United Kingdom and both with careers in the Scotch whisky industry — are keen open water swimmers.
On April 16 they swam from Ohui at the northern end of Opoutere Beach to Slipper Island.
The swim was about 6km and completed by the brothers in well under two hours.
Nick is managing director for Holyrood Distillery, the first single malt whisky distillery to operate in Edinburgh for a century.
Alex is the head of events for Atom Brands, which includes the independent whisky bottling brand Boutique-y Whisky Company.
The pair decided they were perfectly placed to do their bit for the plight of the world’s rarest dolphin, the Maui dolphin and its cousin the Hector’s dolphin, by releasing a limited edition scotch whisky called Storm Kelpie as a fundraiser.
They did so by smuggling whisky samples on themselves while swimming The Corryvreckan, the world’s third largest whirlpool, situated between the Isles of Jura and Scarba in the Scottish Hebrides. The smuggled whisky was blended into the limited-edition Storm Kelpie, supporting Sea Shepherd NZ and its dolphin saving efforts. The 2000 bottles that were released sold out in a week and raised $11,000.
Nick says the Slipper Island swim was a preparation for their next whisky smuggling crossing of the English Channel on June 20 with a second crossing of the Corryvreckan planned for August 1. Both will further fundraise for Sea Shepherd.