Whisky (and Gin) Galore

I spent a very enjoyable hour at the Scotch Whisky Research Institute this morning which is an industry funded body based at the Heriot Watt Research Park on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Its' Director Gordon Steele had invited me some time ago and we discussed a whole range of research policy issues which were very thought provoking.

The tour was fascinating too, letting me see distilling in the lab, research on barleys, analysis of counterfeit products ( some of the bottles and labels were very entertaining), the refining of equipment and techniques and concluding with an invitation to " nose" half a dozen Scottish produced gins, given the growth in the production of speciality and premium gins by Scotch Whisky distillers , including in my own constituency.