IT is time to raise a glass to the spirit of Scottish enterpreneurship.
And the spirit in this case is gin. This quintessentially English drink has now been claimed for Scotland - Glasgow-based businessman Jonathan Engels is producing a new gin made from juniper and rosehip grown north of the Border.
He believes his Crossbill Gin is the only one on the market made entirely from Scottish plants. Mr Engels has been working with the Forestry Commission, conservation charity Plantlife Scotland and the Inshriach Estate, Aviemore, to revive the tradition of juniper harvesting, and the first batch of Crossbill, produced at his micro-distillery in Argyll, is expected to be available in time for Christmas.
We should also celebrate the success of Aberdeenshire-based craft beer maker BrewDog, which itself is enjoying some heady days, this time with the help of the new phenomenon of crowd funding. The £4m it has raised through its "Equity for Punks" scheme will see the company open its first bar in Asia, with BrewDog Tokyo on course to pour its first drink next March.
We are happy to toast the continuing success of Scottish enterprise.
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