Whisky fans force road closure in scrum for rare bottles
Police were forced to close a road after an influx of whisky collectors headed to a distillery desperate to get their hands on a limited edition bottle.
AA traffic reports for the area around the Macallan Distillery in Craigellachie, Moray, said around 300 cars were in the area on Tuesday morning.
Fans travelled from around the UK and were said to have camped overnight in some cases to try and snap up a bottle of the limited edition Macallan Genesis, on sale at 10am.
Police closed a section of the B9102 as cars were parked on verges and began to block the road.
A section of the B9102 has been closed at the #Macallan Distillery, Craigellachie at the junction of the A941 in the East to Braehead and Overton Cottage in the West. The public are urged to drive carefully and be patient. Updates to follow. #policescotland#keepingpeoplesafe
-- MorayPolice (@MorayPolice) August 14, 2018
Motorists tweeted their anger at the organisational problems, posting photos of the make-shift car park.
Well that was fun trying to get to Macallan pic.twitter.com/6dByNs0F07
-- Stew McIntyre (@MaltMentalist) August 14, 2018
The road re-opened shortly before 10am but whisky fans continued to voice their anger online.
Dear @The_Macallan, I wonder the environmental impact of the hundreds of vehicles driven cumulative tens-of-thousands of miles only to be turned away from your gates emptyhanded. Irresponsible! #BadManagement#PRdisaster#Whisky#Fail Sincerely, a former customer!
-- Stuart Campbell (@_StuartC_) August 14, 2018
Bar owners in Drumnadrochit near Loch Ness who successfully secured a bottle joked about the bizarre situation, saying it had riot shields at the ready.
That's the Macallan open and ready for pouring, our doors will be opening at 12.30. We have our riot gear at the ready. pic.twitter.com/MMy3v6dAdR
-- Jon Beach (@maltwhiskybar) August 14, 2018
