Whisky reaches cell-by date

A BATCH of rare whisky was taken into police custody after insurers refused to underwrite it for £500,000.

Bruichladdich distillery on Islay called police when it was refused cover for the 1,000-a-bottle spirit waiting to be shipped off the island.

There are only 500 bottles of the special Bruichladdich 40-year-old, and the company’s insurers said it was too big a risk to leave them at the distillery.

So the island’s three police officers locked it in their one cell for the night until it could be shipped next day.

Mark Reynier, managing director of Bruichladdich, said:

"We are grateful to the police for getting us out of a fix. I would not have been able to sleep easily."