A NORTH-EAST MSP has tabled a motion at the Scottish Parliament that acknowledged the success of World Whisky Day and its importance to Speyside, Moray and Banffshire.
Stewart Stevenson, the MSP for the Banffshire and Buchan Coast constituency that includes an area of Moray around Buckie, marked World Whisky Day by saying that he welcomed parliamentary boundary changes that took the Knock distillery into his constituency – adding that he was looking forward to “making a takeover bid for Moray” at the next election!
Mr Stewart’s Holyrood motion this week acknowledged World Whisky Day as a celebration of an industry that last year saw 250,000 attend whisky-themed events in over 40 countries. It also acknowledged the work of Blair Bowman, the founder of the celebration day that was established four years ago.
The MSP said: “Around the world, people have been celebrating, including people in Nairobi, Kenya, and people in Cambodia, in the warehouse in Siem Reap’s old market area.
“In Kiev—troubled as Ukraine currently is—people were able to make time in Sofiivs’ka Street for whisky tasting.
“In a traditional gentleman’s bar in my niece’s home town of Townsville in Queensland, there was a whisky menu from which one could select a wide range of whiskies, and there were two events in Antartica.
“I celebrated World Whisky Day on Saturday with a refreshing draught of anCnoc from the distillery at Knock.”
Mr Stewart then placed his tongue firmly in his cheek – or at least Moray’s MSP Richard Lochhead will have hoped that is what he was doing – by adding: “I welcome the constituency boundary changes in 2011 that gave me that distillery to add to the couple that I already had, but I am looking forward to making a takeover bid for Moray at the next election, because I want more of them.
“You cannae get enough.”