A visit to the recently opened Edinburgh Gin Distillery in the heart of the Scottish capital brought home the major investment in - and sophistication of - drinks industry experiences in Scotland.

The construction by Ian Macleod Distillers of the new site on East Market Street - the bottling plant of Edinburgh Gin is at Broxburn in West Lothian - is of course just one of many major investments in visitor experiences by Scottish drinks sector players.

Glasgow-based Edrington has made a huge investment in its visitor experience at The Macallan Distillery at Craigellachie on Speyside. And, in the Scottish capital, Diageo has invested heavily in its Johnnie Walker Princes Street experience.

The major investment in the new Edinburgh Gin Distillery and visitor centre feels like it epitomises distillers’ awareness of the importance of such experiences to their broader businesses.

Over the years and decades, I have had the opportunity to visit a fair number of distilleries and speak to the people in charge.

Highlights have included interviewing whisky industry veteran Hiroyoshi “Mike” Miyamoto at Suntory’s Yamazaki Distillery, south-west of the ancient Japanese city of Kyoto, back in 2010.

As I noted at the time: “He talks of himself as a whisky engineer and about the science of the production process. He emphasises his belief there should be continuous improvement in the product. Miyamoto also highlights his view that the Scotch whisky industry is more resistant to change.”

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Ian McConnell:........

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