It’s not your average 18th birthday present – but every young person in a remote Highland community is to receive a cask of whisky on their special day.
It is part of an initiative to drive the economy and encourage families to stay in the area.
The Ardnamurchan Trust will buy a cask of maturing spirit from the Ardnamurchan Distillery on behalf of every local resident aged between 10 and 17 years old.
On their 18th birthday, the young person will be given the option of selling the cask back to the distillery with the profits helping to finance their further education or support their future training and careers.
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The scheme is the brainchild of the Ardnamurchan Trust, a Scottish registered charity, in co-operation with Alex Bruce, managing director of Adelphi, which owns the Ardnamurchan Distillery.
Mr Bruce said: “We’re very proud to be unveiling this brilliant scheme during the Year of Young People. This programme brings together the Ardnamurchan Distillery, local businesses and residents, and has the support of Scotland Food and Drink, the Scottish Government, the Portman Group and Drink Aware.
“This scheme will benefit young people in the Ardnamurchan area, who will directly profit from the sale of their local whisky. We’ll also be offering additional support by forging further links with the community and local businesses, as well as offering work experience and training throughout all aspects of the business.
“In addition to supporting the next generation from an early age, it also gives us security of an established long-term employment pool in the area.”
Adelphi will invite all the young people to attend practical day courses at the distillery, giving them both operational and tourism experience, as well as at Adelphi’s main offices, where they will learn about the bottling and distribution side of the business, as well as receive sales, marketing and logistics experience.
A spokesman for the Ardnamurchan Trust said: “With the ongoing support of the Scottish Government and Scotland Food and Drink, we hope the scheme can be replicated through other community initiatives across the industry.”
Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said: “This is a fantastic, innovative and thoughtful initiative by the Ardnamurchan Trust and I applaud everyone involved with it.
“Scotland’s whisky distilleries do much to support their local communities and economies, but equally those distilleries could not exist without the skills and expertise provided by people living in those communities.”
