Brothers’ whisky lifeline for people of Madagascar
The Gaelic origin of the word ‘whisky’ is ‘water of life’ and two special editions of Scotland’s famous amber nectar are helping the lives of people in desperate need of fresh drinking water.
Last December, brothers Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan MacLean set off rowing their trusty boat ‘Broar’ from LaGomera in the Canary Islands heading for Antigua as part of the gruelling 3,000mile Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.
Not only did the boys complete the challenge, but their 35-day voyage set new records for the first three brothers to row any ocean, the youngest trio and the fastest trio to row the Atlantic.
That was far from their only achievement. The MacLean brothers’ epic voyage was preceded by a west of Scotland ‘pillage’ of 17 generous distilleries, with whisky donated from Lochranza on Arran to Talisker on Skye, via Islay, Jura, Crinan, Oban, Mull and Ardnamurchan. With the help of many people, two limited edition whiskies were created by the boys’ whisky expert father Charles – Maclean’s Pillage, a blended malt of just 168 bottles, and blended
Scotch Maclean’s Spillage, of which only 299 bottles exist.
Each bottle contains a small amount of whisky which accompanied the MacLeans on their record-breaking trans-Atlantic challenge.
The Broar voyage raised money for the Craignish-based Feedback Madagascar charity’s Whisky for Water campaign, aimed at providing clean water for 3,000 people living around the forests of central Madagascar. The exclusive new blends will add to this total.
Feedback Madagascar founder and director Jamie Spencer said: ‘Every penny will go to building clean water ‘Broarholes’. With pre-sale funds raised so far, we have already built the first two which are serving 500 people. And they could not be more timely. Clean water pumps are proving vital in our COVID response strategy. Not only do they prevent illness and build resilience, but they serve as a central point to inform each household about the epidemic and how to stay healthy and safe. I thank everyone who has contributed so much to this fantastic fundraising campaign. As wonderful as the extraordinary journeys have been to get to this point, it is the final destination that counts. Please buy or donate, if you wish, and we will start building and turn on those taps. Slainte mhath!’
The Broar blends have been placed on sale at Royal Mile Whiskies, which expects a rush of interest from collectors across the globe.
STOP PRESS: 70cl bottles of Maclean’s Pillage sold out earlier this week, with just a few bottles of Maclean’s Spillage left.