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Spirit Still
whisky shop in Aberdeenshire gets Visit
Scotland's Five Star tourism rating.
Aberdeenshire whisky shop and tasting
room, Still Spirit has been awarded
VisitScotland’s highest Quality
Assurance (QA) grading at its first-ever
visit.
Still Spirit can be found on the
outskirts of Pitmedden, near Ellon, and
is part of Whisky Hammer, one of the
world’s leading online whisky auction
houses, it has been awarded the national
tourism organisation’s Five Star Tourist
Shop award, despite only joining the QA
scheme in August 2021. It is one of only
three 5 Star tourist shops in Aberdeen
and Aberdeenshire.
Staff moved into the shop in September
2020, though due to the pandemic it only
operated online at first, it opened
properly in the new year 2021. Over the
last 12 months, Still Spirit has been
offering both private and public tasting
events suited to every budget and party
size, attended by brand ambassadors and
whisky experts.
Sessions have included a collaboration
with Meat Monsters smokehouse in Ellon,
with traditional Speyside malt Benromach
being paired with five different
smokehouse meats. A small, decked area
outside the store means customers can
enjoy a dram in the surrounding
countryside on a summer’s evening.
A new warehouse is currently being
developed on the site which will house
2,000 casks of whisky, due to be ready
to buy by the end of the year. With
visitors coming from as far afield as
India and Hong Kong, it means they can
see the warehouse, taste the whisky and
buy a bottle or cask direct from the
warehouse.
The shop sells a wide variety of
whiskies from across Scotland as well as
other fine spirits, including gin, rum,
vodka and tequila, and in the
fully-stocked take-away dram bar, some
old and rare drams can be found.
VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance Scheme
has been refreshed in line with the
changing landscape, and in consultation
with industry, to continue to provide a
trusted, relevant and impartial source
of information for visitors, as well as
the businesses taking part.
VisitScotland has recently undertaken a
pilot programme of visits to test the
new procedures, health and safety
protocols and risk assessments which
have been introduced since the COVID-19
pandemic. This is a key first step
towards the return of in-person grading
visits for all members, which will
resume later this year.
Daniel Milne, Managing Director at Still
Spirit, said: "To be awarded such a high
ranking in a short space of time is a
fantastic achievement. We’ve built a
wonderful and knowledgeable team at
Still Spirit whose passion to create a
quality destination for whisky
enthusiasts sees visitors travel from
far and wide.
"As a fairly young business, we’re
always looking for ways to improve our
offering and give customers the best
possible experience in store and at our
dram bar. The 5-Star rating from
VisitScotland is a welcome
acknowledgement that we’re moving in the
right direction as a business and
helping to strengthen tourism in the
local area in the process."
David Jackson, VisitScotland Regional
Director, said: “I would like to
congratulate Daniel and the team at
Still Spirit for their well-deserved
achievement. They are providing a
world-class tourist shop, which is
reflected in their five-star award.
"I hope the success of Still Spirit sets
an example to other businesses to join
the scheme, which benefits tourism
businesses and visitors alike. It is
vital that everyone involved in tourism
works together to offer visitors a
fantastic experience when visiting and
staying in Aberdeenshire, to strengthen
our tourism offering.
"Our Quality Assurance scheme can help
us drive up standards across the
industry, effectively setting
expectations and providing reassurance
for visitors to Scotland. Our Stars
represent world class excellence –
helping businesses demonstrate they care
about quality and enabling visitors to
make informed choices."
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