Close Menu
News

Port Ellen 34yo to auction for charity

A bottle of 34-year-old Port Ellen Scotch whisky will be auctioned for charity after Douglas Laing chairman Fred Laing triumphed in a squash match against spirits writer Greg Dillon.

A bottle of Port Ellen 34 bottled by Douglas Laing is being auctioned for charity

Following a “gruelling match”, Laing beat Dillon, founder of greatdrams.com, three games to one.

Signed by each competitor, the money raised from the sale of the Port Ellen whisky will be donated to Laing’s chosen charity – RAF Benevolent Fund, the leading welfare charity dedicated to serving Royal Air Force members, veterans and their families.

Laing said: “My dad, FDL, the company founder was an RAF man through and through, and when he returned from World War II unscathed, the Scotch whisky business became his focus.

“We bottled a butt of Braeval back in 2013 with all proceeds going to the RAF Benevolent Fund, and now the company is seen as part of the RAF family. We try to help this great cause, particularly in this, the RAF’s 100th anniversary year, whenever possible.”

Despite winning the match, Laing decided the money raised from the auction should also be donated to Dillon’s chosen charity – Ollies Army, which combats Batten’s disease, a fatal disease of the nervous system that typically starts in early childhood. As time passes, children suffer seizures that get progressively worse and lose their eyesight and motor skills.

The whisky is from Laing’s personal collection and originally retailed for £1,500. It was distilled in May 1982 and filled into a refill hogshead cask, barrel DL#11481, before being bottled as part of Douglas Laing’s XOP range in November 2016.

Dillon said: “This was all about doing something a bit different for charity that utilises our passion for playing squash in order to raise much needed funds for these two great causes. “

To bid on the bottle of Port Ellen, click here.

It looks like you're in Asia, would you like to be redirected to the Drinks Business Asia edition?

Yes, take me to the Asia edition No