Distillery creates pro-independence Scotch whisky

A distillery has created a pro-Scottish independence blended Scotch, using 45 different whiskies to reflect the percentage of voters who returned a “yes” vote.

Limited edition blended Scotch whisky Spirit of Freedom 45 is inspired by the number of Scottish citizens who support independence

Springbank Distillers, based in Cambeltown, has now launched its limited edition Spirit of Freedom 45 blend, which is also bottled at 45% abv.

The blend has been release “to support the 45% of voters who said ‘yes’” following the Scottish referendum on independence in September this year, where the majority of the population opted to remain as part of the United Kingdom.

Ranald Watson, sales and marketing manager at Springbank Distillers, told The Scotsman: “Springbank was the only Scottish distillery to come out publicly in favour of independence and our stance struck a chord with many voters throughout the country and beyond.

“[Spirit of Freedom 45] has generated unprecedented comment and debate on our Facebook page and I can imagine a lot of yes voters will be hoping for a bottle in their Christmas stocking.”

Watson added that the company has received interest from stockists in England, as well as Scotland, and has also received queries from international distributors. However, the edition will be exclusively available in the UK.

Springbank Distillers also released a 30-year-old blend, called Spirit of Freedom 30, to commemorate the 700^th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn – part of the first Scottish war for independence.

Spirit of Freedom 45 is now available from whisky retailers across the UK at an RRP of £25.