Fife charity launches ‘strictly gin’ project

‘Strictly Gin’ includes individuals signing-up for one of four unique gin blending experiences which includes each attendee blending their own favourite flavoured blend of the spirit during a masterclass with Tayport Distillery.

The winner of each of the four heats will then be entered into a grand final, resulting in the judged winning blend being bottled to produce a limited edition run and sold from mid-November with proceeds going to the Hamish Foundation and used to support a series of St Andrews improvement projects during the next twelve months.

The Hamish team are hosting four exclusive events at which attendees will have the opportunity to create their very own gin blend in conjunction with Tayport Distillery.

A run of 100 limited edition bottles of the winning gin will be produced and sold from mid-November with pre-sales for the gin also being taken at the blending masterclass events.

The chosen heat winners will also have the opportunity to attend an exclusive final dinner at the Old Course Hotel to be held on October 17.

With tickets priced at £75 per person for the blending masterclasses, which will be held locally at Ham’s Hame, entrants will not only be able to take a bottle of their own blend home along with a goody bag, but will also have the chance to sample everyone else’s creations.

They will also help select a winning gin from each session to go through to the final tasting that will create the limited edition Hamish Gin for Christmas. One of the four sessions has already sold out.

Debbie MacCallum, trustee of the Hamish Foundation, said: “We are immensely looking forward to these fun events and choosing our exclusive Hamish Gin which will be available in time for Christmas and hope that it will raise significant funds for our St Andrews projects.

“We have engaged with Kecia McDougall of Tayport Distillery and the Old Course Hotel to make this idea a reality, and local student, Jemma Brown, has helped design our bottle and branding concept. We are really excited to be working with such a talented team and thank them very much for their support with the ‘Strictly Gin’ project”.

Tayport Distillery is a family-owned and operated distillery producing award-winning spirits. They have developed a premium spirit using local produce which includes Scotland’s first Eau de Vie, Never.25, and Scotland’s first cassis blackcurrant liqueur, 1992.

Kecia said: “I am thrilled to be involved with this project. The Hamish Foundation volunteers work so hard to deliver incredible projects and make them a reality. The projects make a real difference to the lives of children and families around St Andrews.”