South African prosecutors say a man who spilled his glass of whisky on the president has been convicted of assault.

Daryl Peense was arrested and charged with assault on President Jacob Zuma at a horse race in Durban last year. He was found guilty of assault overnight (NZ time).

Peense says he spilled some of his whisky near the president. He says it was a drunken accident and says the liquid did not touch anyone.

"It's destroyed my life," Peense says of the incident. He says the legal fees have left him in financial ruin.

Prosecutors have asked for Peense to be fined during sentencing in September.

This article appeared in 'Stuff.co.nz' - click here for full article

Angry Israeli nationals have launched a counter-boycott against Scotch Whisky companies, including Dumbarton's Chivas Brothers.

The move was arranged by a group of online bloggers in response to West Dunbartonshire Council's (WDC) decision to ban the importation of any goods manufactured or produced in the Middle-eastern state.

Chivas, which operates the Kilmalid bottling plant in Dumbarton, and the Loch Lomond Distillery are among the Whisky manufacturers from the area that have been targeted in the latest action taken to try and overturn the ban.

A spokesperson from Chivas said: "West Dunbartonshire Council does not represent the views of Chivas Brothers. We will be passing on any correspondence on this subject to West Dunbartonshire Council so they are fully aware of the potential implications of their policy."

A number of activists have also bombarded councillors in the area with offensive letters and emails accusing them of being "Nazis and anti-Semitic".

Jameel Rashid, writing on the online blog The Muqata, said: "I urge you to write to these fine distillers of whisky, and express your outrage and support of the counter-boycott.

"Pass this list on to your friends and neighbours. It is simply immoral for West Dunbartonshire Council to boycott Israel."

But a spokesman for WDC hit back at the latest move saying: "The boycott on the purchase of Israeli goods was a decision taken unanimously by West Dunbartonshire councillors in January 2009 in an attempt to highlight the Israeli state's unacceptable use of force in the Occupied Territories. The recent coverage of this decision has been utterly sensationalist, with reports of a ban on Israeli books in our libraries nothing more than a fabrication by mischievous sections of the media.

"These articles have incited complaints, many of them unsavoury, from people who don't know the facts.

"The latest of these is the threat of a counter-boycott. We appreciate the concerns of local business and recognise their importance to the economy of West Dunbartonshire. We have asked to be kept informed of any impact on sales in the coming weeks and months to determine the credibility of these threats."

He added: "The council unreservedly stands behind its decision on the boycott and the fact Stirling Council has taken the same stance, and councillors in Dundee are keen to follow suit clearly shows we do not stand alone on this issue."

Online bloggers have also published councillor's email addresses, phone numbers, and in some cases home addresses on the internet.

At last month's full council meeting councillor George Black put forward an emergency motion refuting any allegations of anti-Semitism.

The recent troubles have flared up after a national newspaper criticised WDC's boycott of Israeli products, although the boycott has been in place for more than two years.

This article appeared in 'Dumbarton & Vale of Leven Reporter'

Sales of the Glencairn Whisky Glass have smashed the 7 million mark, says a report.

Managing director Paul Davidson told whisky magazine that the crystal glass has become the ‘Official Glass of Whisky’.

He is quoted as saying: “We worked with leaders in the whisky blending industry to design a glass that would properly capture all the nuances of a fine whisky, while also being functional.

“The Glencairn Whisky Glass was born and it has been a huge success as a product, with sales of well over one million glasses a year world-wide. Indeed it is now the ‘Official Glass of Whisky’ throughout the industry.”

He continued: “At Glencairn we have built our business on a commitment to
personal service and quality.”

“The company has grown through a truly innovative approach to the market that has led us to the forefront of premium packaging for some of the world’s rarest and most expensive whiskies.”

The firm recently announced £250,000 expansion plans at their glass decoration facility at the East Kilbride.

As the Royal Wedding fast approaches, the whisky maker The Macallan has announced the release of a limited edition of 1000 bottles celebrating the Royal Marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton.

The MacallanThe unique and collectable edition will feature exceptional single malt whisky taken from two casks, both filled on 29 April – one from 1996 and one from 1999.

The creation of this special bottle follows the release of a commemorative edition to mark the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.

This comprised two casks, one from each of their birth years. At the time, the bottle sold out and today is a highly sought-after item for collectors of 'The Macallan' around the world, according to the firm.

"Having created a limited edition to mark the wedding of his parents in 1981, we wanted to follow this with a special bottling for Prince William's own marriage," said The Macallan marketing assistant Patricia Lee.

"Our whisky maker, Bob Dalgarno, has excelled himself once again by selecting two exquisite casks, each filled on 29 April, to create a whisky which brings together cinnamon, ginger and spice with toffee apples and vanilla giving a soft, full and long lasting finish."

'David Holmes'

In keeping with this original bottling, The Macallan has commissioned the creative force behind the 1981 bottle, David Holmes, who was also one of the architects of the brand's advertising campaign in the 1980s and the early 1990s, to create the label and packaging design.

The label design incorporates a duck egg blue colour, featuring interwoven monograms and silver roses, while the bespoke silver coloured presentation box is designed with a 'viewing window' to show off the bottle.

Article Courtesy of Packaging News

BenRiach and GlenDronach are two of seven independent Scottish distilleries collaborating to produce a unique whisky and donate all proceeds to the disaster relief effort in Japan.

Each of the seven distilleries, representing the best craft producers in the Scotch whisky business, is donating a cask of its single malt that will be expertly blended to create a limited edition whisky, appropriately called The Spirit of Unity.

2010 was a record year for Scotch Whisky exports, according to new figures published today by The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA).

The performance confirmed Scotch Whisky as one of the UK’s top exporting industries.

Global shipments were valued at £3.45bn, a 10% increase on 2009. Scotch Whisky exports have increased by 60% since the turn of the century, adding an extra £1.29bn in value.

Export value broke the £100 a second barrier for the first time, contributing an additional £10 every second to British exports compared to 2009 (£109 v. £99 a second).

The figures reflected continued premiumisation across the industry, with export value increasing despite a marginal decrease in volume (-2% to the equivalent of 1.06bn 70cl bottles). Export volume in 2010 was 7% (or 72m extra bottles) higher than in 2000.

The SWA reported encouraging growth across different Scotch Whisky categories. Single Malt exports increased by 18% (to £577m) and bottled Blended Scotch Whisky shipments rose by 5% (to £2.6bn).

Eight of the top ten markets grew in value, with a strong performance in the USA (+19% to £499m) which remained Scotch’s largest export market by value. The ‘BRIC' markets continued to develop, with exports growing to Brazil (+12% to £67m), China (+24% to £55m), India (+46% to £41m) and Russia (+61% to £31m).

Gavin Hewitt, Chief Executive of the SWA, said: "Scotch Whisky is a world class industry that consistently delivers for the UK. Global exports increased for the sixth consecutive year and are now 60% higher in value than in 2000. This year's strong performance, contributing £109 a second to UK exports, demonstrates that distillers are playing a key role in export-led recovery."

“To help distillers build on a successful 2010, the SWA continues to work hard to secure fair access to Scotch Whisky’s export markets and better legal protection. We saw real progress on our trade agenda last year, including agreements for lower tariffs in South Korea and GI registration in China.

A bottle of Gordon & MacPhail Generations Glenlivet 70 Years Old has sold for £15,000 at auction.

The successful bidder has asked that the decanter be gifted to the people of Japan.

The special, single item, charity auction was held at Bonhams, Edinburgh on 29 March 2011. The proceeds from the sale of the bottle, gifted by Gordon & MacPhail, will be donated to the British Red Cross Japan Appeal. Bonhams hosted and managed the sale for free.

Decanter number 1 of 100 was presented for this special event.

"Gordon & MacPhail has had trading relationships with Japan for over thirty years and members of our family-owned business felt it was important to show our support and raise funds to aid the relief. I think we all feel helpless in the face of a tragedy like this so it is good to be able to do something practical. People have responded very generously and I am delighted that we have been able to support the people of Japan in this way.

Tidal power, hitherto one of the poor relations of the renewable energy sector, will take a substantial leap forward with a major new undersea development off the west coast of Scotland.

An array of ten tidal turbines, the largest, and indeed the first of its kind in the world, is to be installed on the seabed in the Sound of Islay, the channel between the islands of Islay and Jura.

Scotch whisky exports rose 10 percent in 2010 to a new record of 3.45 billion pounds ($5.54 billion) driven largely by emerging markets despite a small decline in overall volumes shipped.

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) said on Wednesday that exports, which account for just over 90 percent of production, increased for the sixth consecutive year in value terms, but volumes dipped 2 percent to the equivalent of 1.06 billion standard bottles of scotch in 2010.