Fear and Loathing in Bankfoot
We’re not sure what happened to our Mystery Visitor over Christmas but it seems he has finally lost the plot. And ended up at the Scottish Liqueur Centre of all places
We were somewhere around Perth on the edge of the Highlands when the mood began to take hold. I remember saying something like âI
feel the need for a Bramble Liqueur; maybe you should driveâ¦â
And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a 100 miles an hour with the top down, to Inverness.
Well, actually I made that bit up because itâs difficult to tackle the A9 at any more than 60, what with speed cameras, tractors and the odd tourist. And an odd tourist is just what I felt like on arriving at the Scottish Liqueur Centre.
This is not your typical whisky visitor centre. In fact, itâs a large industrial building at Bankfoot just north of Perth. Inside the not very promising and deeply unromantic façade, there is a small blending and bottling plant, a rather larger shop and a slightly more interesting story.
The shop takes up most of the space, so âvisitor centreâ is a somewhat ambitious claim, but there are tours for organised groups and a talk which takes you through the history of the company.
This involves a traditional family recipe (admit it, youâd guessed that part); a Jack Russell terrier; a shotgun and a stormy night on Mull (thatâs an island, not something that pirates drink).
Then there was a firebombing in Glasgow (believable) and John Murray & Co ended up in Bankfoot where they make the liqueurs today.
The.....
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By Dominic Roskrow
Section : Mystery Visitor
Page number : 40
