The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Drinks range to raise cash for charity
An artisan Angus drinks producer is adding new lines which will recognise a century of remembering soldiers who died in conflicts around the world, while raising money for Poppyscotland.
Arbroath-based Toll House Spirits Ltd is launching a new range of spirits which will raise funds for Poppyscotland in the process.
As a local Poppy Partner, they were put in touch with the fundraising team at Poppyscotland to see how they could help on a larger scale, to commemorate 100 years of the poppy being the nation’s symbol of remembrance.
“We had a long chat with Erika Mather, their corporate fundraiser over Zoom in November last year and lots of ideas came forward,” said Fiona Walsh, one of Toll House Spirits directors.
“Within a few days we went off exploring all avenues and decided to launch a new range of spirits under the Toll House brand. We are known for our existing range of Redcastle products – gins, liqueurs and rum, but we wanted to offer something completely new.”
To help get this ambitious initiative off the ground, they enlisted the help of their partner distiller, Lewis Scothern, who has come up with a variety of recipes and ideas and received design help from Erik Porter of Union Creative in Montrose.
“We like to keep things local so being able to work with two fellow Angus businesses is great,” added Fiona.
“We knew what look and feel we wanted to achieve but Erik has really brought our ideas to life. The team are now working hard to get the range ready to launch in a matter of days.”
As Toll House prepares for launch, bottles and caps have been delivered, labels are arriving this week, and equipment has arrived from Italy to enable them to fit the tamper-proof seals to their bottles.
“We were a little nervous that the kit would get held up due to Brexit, but we only encountered a slight delay which was a relief,” said Fiona.
The initial Poppyscotland range will comprise a spiced rum and a citrus vodka, retailing at £25 for a 70cl, with £1 per bottle going straight to the charity.
Fiona continued: “We will also add a gin to the new Toll House line-up as there is no getting away from the continued popularity of gin here in Scotland right now.
“In time, the team plan to add a blended Scotch whisky to the range, too.
“I’ve worked for a number of years in the spirits industry and it has always been a dream of mine to create a new brand of Scotch whisky. It now feels within reach, which is extremely exciting.”
Head of fundraising and learning at Poppyscotland, Gordon Michie, added: “We are delighted to be working with Toll House Spirits on the launch of their new artisan spirits range.”