It was a mild evening for September in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town as The Master, Wardens, Liverymen and honoured guests gathered at the beautiful Signet Library on Parliament Square.
The fabulous surroundings always add to the sense of occasion and so it proved again this year as 220 finely dressed people (another full house) gathered in the Lower Library to enjoy the drinks reception with Red Door Gin & Tonic and Hemispheres Blended World Whisky from Woven Whisky.
Guests moved upstairs to the even grander Signet Library to enjoy a fine meal of smoked sea trout with Macon-Fuisse Domaine de Fussiacus Burgundy 2023, slow cooked shin of beef accompanied by Chateau du Moulin Rouge Haut Medoc 2018 and to finish an elderflower and raspberry panna cotta.
The assembly then progressed to the Loving Cup ceremony with the second outing for our fantastic new quaichs and sgean dughs, following their introduction last year. The Distillers are believed to be the only Livery Company who still use daggers in their Loving Cup ceremonies and it is particularly appropriate, given the importance of Scotland to the distillery sector, to have our own very special Scottish version to maintain that tradition. The ceremony itself, with Sloe Gin provided by Summerhall Distillery, proved as entertaining as ever, with some liverymen more practised than others. Or better able to follow instructions perhaps!
The Fellowship Toasts with a 2015 Vintage Release from Ballindalloch Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky followed the ceremony. In a particularly poignant contribution, Liveryman Natasha Wilson proposed the Toast to the Guests. Natasha was standing in place of her father Liveryman David Wilson, originally scheduled to give the toast, and who tragically passed away at only 60 last December. Natasha paid a heartfelt tribute to her father, speaking of his love of being part of this Worshipful Company. She also wanted to celebrate the values he lived true to, and shared, with everyone he met. “Values of kindness, openness, legacy but most importantly, living life with energy, enthusiasm and fun!
She urged the assembled Liverymen: “Let us embody those values for him tonight as we honour the fortune we have to be here all together as a Livery, with our esteemed guests” as we toasted those who had joined us for this convivial occasion.
Baroness Ruth Davidson has a reputation as an outstanding orator and she displayed those skills to full effect in her Response on behalf of the Guests.
Most would know her from her political career, fewer perhaps would be aware her father ran a whisky company for years and it soon became clear she knew the industry well, as she described a childhood where discussion at the kitchen table would be of bottling, marketing, branding and even more so talk about the product the blending, maturation, laying down of barrels, the tasting notes – it soon became apparent the Baroness was not an amateur. And there was much hilarity in response to her described journey as an “avowed consumer”.
“I didn’t play at it. There were no shortcuts in this endeavour. I worked hard. Applied myself to the task. Repeatedly. At one point I considered myself to have an aptitude for it. And then pregnancy comes and children arrive and suddenly two wine gums and you are anybody’s.”
But there was a serious message too, as she acknowledged the “almost perfect storm of headwinds” the industry was facing and she urged the industry and its supporters to lobby on behalf of the hospitality trade – with a thousand pubs a year being lost in Britain and a quarter of late night venues having disappeared since 2020. She pointed to an Oxford University study which found that people who regularly visit their local pub feel more socially engaged, more trusting of their community and more satisfied with life. “Pubs and clubs aren’t just venues; they’re social ecosystems. For young people, this matters more than ever. We live in an age of digital connection but emotional isolation.” She highlighted the role licensed premises played in bringing people together in a safe environment and suggested we all should articulate the message a little louder before it’s too late.
After acknowledging the important charitable work of the Livery Company and thanking the Master and Liverymen for their hospitality she ended with a quote from one of the city’s most famous writers Robert Louis Stevenson in The Scotsman’s Return from Abroad:
“At last across the weary faem,
Frae far, outlandish pairts I came,
On ilka side o’ me I fand
Fresh tokens o’ my native land.
Wi whatna joy I hailed them a’ –
The hilltaps standin’ raw by raw
The public house, the Heilan’ birks,
And a’ the bonny U.P. kirks!
But maistly thee, the bluid o’ Scots
Frae Maidenkirk to John O Grots,
The king o’ drinks, as I conceive it,
Talisker, Islay or Glenlivet.
Baroness Davidson was always going to be a hard act to follow yet Master Nick Carr proved himself more than equal to the task.
He presented her with a gift – a limited and rare Single Malt – Master’s Cask Mortlach 15 YO – produced for his Master’s Year by his old company Diageo and signed by him.
He then moved on to outline some of the Livery’s achievements. Membership has grown by nearly 30% since COVID and our charity is transforming the lives of young people with an increase in fundraising from £50,000 to £1.2m each year. As he explained, the world leading Distillers “One of One” Auction is officially the biggest one-day fundraiser in Livery history – something to be proud of and a timely reminder of the next Auction coming up in October.
More importantly, he highlighted the people these funds were helping… “They have done so much for me…they believed in me when I felt no-one else did…they have helped me realise I can make a great life for myself…”
These were powerful words from the young people whose lives are being changed by the Livery’s charity, despite the toughest of starts.
The Master paid tribute to our military affiliates – 603 Squadron in Edinburgh and 42 (Torpedo Bomber) Squadron based at RAF Lossiemouth – and announced support for our latest affiliate – the Household Cavalry.
The Distillers’ Award for Outstanding Member of Staff was presented to Flight Lieutenant Phil Mowat and a quaich was collected by Wing Commander Colin Bostrom on behalf of 42 (TB) Squadron.
And finally, the Distillers Golf Championship 2025 trophy was present to Past Master Brian Morrison.
The Master also acknowledged the amazing feat of Liveryman Charlie Maclean’s sons – Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan – raising more than £750,000 in a world record Pacific row in support of clean water projects in Madagascar.
Just as Liveryman Natasha Wilson had talked of her father’s values, so the Master finished by describing the Livery’s values and its personality – welcoming, convivial, professional, caring and inclusive. Qualities ably demonstrated as the evening drew to a close in the Lower Library with a Stirrup Cup of beers from Brewgooder.
Liveryman Jane Cumming
