A dram fine effort for charity auction that supports Scottish bar staff
Whisky Ambassadors’ Collection returns for 2019 with auction proceeds going to a drinks industry charity
Agroup of Whisky Ambassadors are creating a collection of rare whiskies donated by their firms that will be auctioned off to raise awareness for a Scottish drinks industry charity.
This is the second year the Whisky Ambassadors’ Collection has gone to auction to help raise awareness and funds for The Ben (The Scottish Licensed Trade Benevolent Society) in Scotland. The charity supports
people of all ages who have worked in the licensed trade for at least three years full-time, with beneficiaries receiving annual financial assistance as well as discretionary grants for emergency situations.
Due to the extraordinary success of the first Ambassadors’ Collection auction last year, which raised over £10,000, the online auction has returned for a second year and will be hosted by Whisky Auction from 18-27 August.
The Collection will include a bottle of 43-year-old Ladyburn, matured in a single cask (bottle number 4 of 60) and bottled at cask strength by independent bottler Blackadder.
Last year, Andy Bell, international sales manager for Isle of Arran Distillers, and Craig Johnstone, former business development manager for Brown Forman, came up with the idea of asking industry friends to donate a bottle from each of their distilleries, deciding that if they had enough interest they would put a charity auction together.
Andy and Craig stated that they were “blown away” by the response.
Craig said: “We were staggered by the generosity of our colleagues. Whiskies with ‘one of one’ labels to celebrate The Collection, single casks and rare festival bottles filled the table alongside a multitude of fabulous core range bottles, mostly signed by industry celebrities.”
Andy Bell added: “The way everyone heard the call-to-arms and collaborated on this, from managing directors and master blenders to sales people and ambassadors, highlighted the cooperative nature of the Scotch Whisky industry.”
Chris Gardner, chief executive at The Ben, said: “We were so surprised and delighted with the wonderful result of £10,150. The funds helped our 150 trade beneficiaries throughout Scotland and our new mental health campaign and roadshows which we will be rolling out in the coming months.”