Scooby_Doo Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 Quote Spirits giant Diageo has announced plans to invest £150m over three years to "transform" its Scotch whisky visitor offerings. The centrepiece will be a Johnnie Walker "immersive visitor experience" based in Edinburgh, highlighting the story of the whisky brand. Diageo will also upgrade its network of 12 distillery visitor centres. The company said it was the "biggest concerted programme ever seen in Scotland's whisky tourism sector". Four distilleries - Glenkinchie, Cardhu, Caol Ila and Clynelish - will be linked directly to the Johnnie Walker venue in Edinburgh, representing the "four corners of Scotland". Diageo hopes the move will encourage visitors to travel to Scotland's "extraordinary" rural communities. Other visitor distilleries, including Lagavulin, Talisker, Glen Ord, Oban, Dalwhinnie, Blair Athol, Cragganmore and Royal Lochnagar, will also see investment to support the growth of single malt Scotch whisky. Diageo chief executive Ivan Menezes said: "Scotch is at the heart of Diageo and this new investment reinforces our ongoing commitment to growing our Scotch whisky brands and supporting Scotland's tourism industry. "For decades to come our distilleries will play a big role in attracting more international visitors to Scotland." Diageo now plans a tie-up with Scottish Enterprise and VisitScotland to promote Scotch and Scotland to potential visitors around the world. 'Significant investment' First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "This significant investment will not only help attract more tourists to Scotland, offering world-class visitor experiences, but it also underlines the fundamental importance of the whisky sector to Scotland's economy." Scottish Secretary David Mundell said whisky was "hugely important" to Scotland's economy. He added: "I welcome Diageo's major new investment. It is hugely exciting, not just for Scotland but for whisky drinkers around the world who want to learn more about the history and traditions of our national drink." BBC Diageo are investing £150m in a Johnnie Walker museum. In Edinburgh. I don't usually get annoyed with news headlines, but that takes the biscuit. Of course, the politicians are 'welcoming the investment'. Why Edinburgh? FFS. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaker71 Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 3 minutes ago, Scooby_Doo said: Story here Diageo are investing £150m in a Johnnie Walker museum. In Edinburgh. I don't usually get annoyed with news headlines, but that takes the biscuit. Of course, the politicians are 'welcoming the investment'. Why Edinburgh? FFS. Tourism central mate, easy way to get their money back. IF the plant was still open then they could’ve put it in there and joined up with the Burns tours as an add on. its not so simple economics wins out. Still pish though 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harley Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 (edited) I refuse to buy another bottle of Diageo Johnnie Walker after the disgraceful way they left Killie. My Ire was irked even further when I watched the David Hayman whisky documentary series last year. They spent nearly a whole episode on JW and there was not 1 mention of Kilmarnock. Seriously, the feckin stuff originated here by a Kilmarnock grocer in 1820. The rest of the documentary was like a tourist map of Scotland. Every other originating town or region was mentioned or visited. I tried contacting David Hayman & the BBC last year to try & find out if Diageo had put pressure on to not mention Kilmarnock. As usual, no reply. Edited April 16, 2018 by harley 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plunkit Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 Yeah - bit rubbish that they have chosen to build this 60 miles away. They'd never do that with Guinness ! Don't forget - Diageo make far more than Johnnie Walker if you are boycotting ;0) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby_Doo Posted April 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 34 minutes ago, plunkit said: They'd never do that with Guinness ! They tried I'm sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdevoy Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 2 hours ago, Scooby_Doo said: Why Edinburgh? FFS. Market forces. As Beaker71 says if you have an international brand and you want to attract as many tourists to Scotland as possible, then Edinburgh is the place to put it. The fact that Johnnie Walker originally set up his business and ran it for over a century in Kilmarnock is just an inconvenient detail. Why let reality interfere with a money making opportunity. The US movie industry has been operating on that principle for 100 years now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz of the 20/20 Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 4 hours ago, Beaker71 said: IF the plant was still open then they could’ve put it in there and joined up with the Burns tours as an add on. There’s not that much to see in The Burns, but it can be a sight to behold on a Saturday night. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harley Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 2 hours ago, plunkit said: Yeah - bit rubbish that they have chosen to build this 60 miles away. They'd never do that with Guinness ! Don't forget - Diageo make far more than Johnnie Walker if you are boycotting ;0) No s**t Sherlock. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdevoy Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 5 hours ago, plunkit said: Don't forget - Diageo make far more than Johnnie Walker if you are boycotting ;0) When I heard they were closing the plant at Kilmarnock I considered a boycott. After a wee bit of research I concluded I would pretty well have to go on the wagon. They have their fingers in so many different alcohol products these days. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chubbs Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 5 hours ago, plunkit said: Yeah - bit rubbish that they have chosen to build this 60 miles away. They'd never do that with Guinness ! Don't forget - Diageo make far more than Johnnie Walker if you are boycotting ;0) They can take ma Smirnoff but they'll never take .... ma Guinness!!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelhumper Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 14 hours ago, Gaz of the 20/20 said: There’s not that much to see in The Burns, but it can be a sight to behold on a Saturday night. Especially when @under5 get's near the karaoke........ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plunkit Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 14 hours ago, harley said: No s**t Sherlock. My point kinda was that a few folk in Killie not buying a couple of bottles of Red Label a year isn't a boycott. They produce over a million bottles of it a week. As mentioned elsewhere, if you truly want to boycott Diageo you probably aren't drinking any more. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAG Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 6 hours ago, plunkit said: As mentioned elsewhere, if you truly want to boycott Diageo you probably aren't drinking any more. They mostly do spirits and don't make much lager! You could easily drink wine,lager, maybe Murphy's stout and there's bound to be a whisky somewhere they've no got their paws on yet.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shropshire_killie Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 I boycot all their stuff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 Much easier to get cheap stuff from them since they moved through this way so I’m in no hurry to boycott. The old Haigs distillery at Markinch would be a better location for their museum. I wonder if Gordon Brown could have a word with them? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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