Bladnoch Distillery announces partnership with Wigtown Book …

Here’s something that caught my eye – Bladnoch has just announced they’re partnering with the Wigtown Book Festival, and it’s actually a pretty clever move that goes beyond typical corporate sponsorship.

The 208-year-old Lowlands distillery is backing the festival’s army of volunteers – over 100 of them who essentially make the whole thing tick. We’re talking about the 27th annual festival here, running from 26 September to 5 October, which pulls in more than 11,000 visitors annually to Scotland’s National Book Town.

What makes this partnership interesting is the shared DNA between these two organisations. Both have been central to Wigtown’s regeneration story. You’ll remember Bladnoch was rescued from closure back in 2015 by David Prior, and the book festival itself was founded in 1999 specifically to revitalise the area during some pretty tough economic times.

The highlight for us whisky folk is the exclusive storytelling event they’re hosting at the distillery on 2 October. Graeme Johncock from @scotlands_stories will be leading “Bold Spirit: Tales of Galloway” at 7:30pm, and here’s the kicker – they’re using it to launch Loch Maberry: Stories of Bladnoch, Chapter 2. This is the second release in their limited-edition series, and it’ll be the first chance anyone gets to taste it before it goes on sale exclusively at the distillery and online.

Dr Nick Savage will be there to talk through the expression alongside whoever inspired its creation, which should make for an interesting evening. The whole thing feels very much in keeping with Bladnoch’s approach since the revival – they’re clearly committed to being more than just a whisky producer in the community.

It’s refreshing to see a distillery put their money behind the volunteers rather than just slapping their name on a marquee. Both organisations understand that sometimes the best marketing is just being genuinely useful to your community.