SUE SAYS!

/dram.scotland @dramscotland

The continuing debacle over the Scottish Deposit Return Scheme is disheartening. This should not be a political football when the cost to business is evident. The Scottish Government went gung ho over a scheme without due process - it failed to secure an exemption to the Internal Markets Act, something that was fundamental! Now, Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater is accusing the UK Government of “sabotaging the scheme” and has said that she will need to look at whether it work without glass, which was one of the safeguards put forward by the UK Government to ensure that there would not be unnecessary barriers to trade between England and Scotland which would allow them to issue a temporary exclusion. Another one was a bar code for use throughout all parts of the UK - seems very sensible to me!

On the subject of glass - it appears that everybody except Ms Slater and her cohorts in government, accepts that glass should not have been included (at least to begin with). Most countries that have adopted a DRS scheme have either adopted glass at a later stage, or not at all.

The big issue is that the business plan for the funding of Circularity Scotland, a ‘not for profit’ enterprise tasked with running DRS, included glass - and without glass - the current financial plans are in tatters. To my mind, it is time Scotland’s DRS plan is recycled... and re-imagined as a scheme that will work for all. For that to happen, it is time the politicians and civil servants, alongside industry, put their heads together, collectively, and created something that was truly world-leading.

It’s good news that the Scottish Government have decided to pause the plan to make it mandatory to have calorie information on menus. Jenny Minto revealed that at the end of May. This would have required businesses to work out the calories in every dish and put that on your menu. No doubt it will raise its head again. But for the time being that is something less to worry about.

DRAM DRINKS RETAILING AND MARKETING

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I am delighted to reveal the sponsor of our Sustainability Award this year is Flor de Caña, the world’s only Carbon Neutral and Fair Trade certified spirit. As well as sponsoring this award it is also running a world-wide Cocktail competition looking for bartenders to come up with a world-leading sustainable cocktail. So get your thinking caps on and let us know why you think you should be considered for the Flor de Caña Sustainability Award.

Ewen Mackintosh, the Managing Director of Gordon & MacPhail, is set to retire next April after 10 years in the role, and 33 years with the company. That is just amazing! No doubt he has seen many changes over the years, but the opening of The Cairn Distillery at Grantown on Spey, must surely be one of his highlights. It is real legacy and one which he presided over. I hope he enjoys a long and healthy retirement. A search is now on for his successor who has big shoes to fill.

Talking of big shoes to fill - I popped along to Granny Gibbs in Whiteinch for a surprise party for Colin Beattie and his best pal Gordon - although I am not sure that the surprise had not filtered out - it was the perfect setting for pals who met when they were still in their teens. It was a significant birthday, with the best of friends, and I hope there are many more of them. However, I missed John Black’s significant birthday. John who runs The Fort Hotel in Broughty Ferry is one of the best licensees in the country and I was sorry not to be able to celebrate with him at the hotel, but I can see from the pictures it was a great party. Happy belated John.

I also managed a visit to the Captain’s Table in Findhorn to help celebrate the re-launch of the Speyside Brewery - and what a great day it was - the beer flowed, the pizza was tasty, the 40 Elephants kept our toes tapping and the company was excellent too. It was great to see everyone giving their support to this local brewery which just moved to bigger premises has re-opened with founder Seb Jones as MD and new Directors Naidene and Katalin Urquhart.

Editor-in -chief Susan Young • Chairman Noel Young

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