A Stonehaven businessman has opened a ‘one-stop’ whisky shop.
The Whisky Bothy has opened in the Aberdeenshire town and sources boutique whiskies, gins and rums from local distilleries, bringing them into one spot for “tourists and locals alike”.
Craig Roy is behind the venture.
He said: “You know how it is when you’re touring around Scotland and you find a nice local thing that you don’t get anywhere else? My aim is to bring those into one location.”
Originally from Cumbernauld, Craig used to work in the pub trade. He cut his teeth in several spots around Aberdeen before pivoting career wise, working as a mechanic for several companies and ran his own motorcycle repair business.
Craig is now focusing on the Whisky Bothy, with tourism surrounding distilleries – particularly Scotch whisky – seeing a boom in recent years.
He said he’s positive about the business scene in Stonehaven as a whole.
He said: “There’s been a lot of new small businesses popping up in Stonehaven and they all seem to be doing well. I didn’t really want to start working for someone else again so it’s something new.”
A hard job – but someone has to do it…
Sourcing products has meant lots of travelling and meeting with distillers.
Craig said: “There are products you just don’t know are out there – I’ve got gin coming from Orkney, whisky from Aberdeenshire, rums from all over.
“Vodka is the one I’m looking out for at the moment, which is proving quite difficult.
“But there are some suppliers that have got some nice ones out there, and not what you’d expect from a Scottish distiller.”
You can find the Whisky Bothy at Arbuthnott Place.
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