JOHN BYRNE DRAWS ROBERT BURNS FOR LIMITED EDITION WHISKY TO MARK 250TH ANNIVERSARY

NEWS RELEASE
January 6th, 2009

To mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns and Homecoming Scotland 2009, The Famous Grouse has specially created 250 bottles of The Famous Grouse 37 year old blended malt whisky, signifying every year of Burns’ extraordinary life.

Renowned Scottish artist and playwright John Byrne was commissioned by The Famous Grouse, to create an original drawing of Robert Burns to adorn this limited edition whisky, making it a unique collector’s item as part of The World Famous Burns Supper celebration.

This bottle of The Famous Grouse 37 year old blended malt whisky has been specially selected by our master blender, John Ramsay, from a range of casks first laid down in 1971. In keeping with the humanitarian spirit of Burns, these bottles, which are valued upwards of £400, will be auctioned off at Burns Suppers all over the world helping to raise a minimum of £10,000 for their chosen charities.

Primarily a visual artist whose artwork has adorned albums by The Beatles, Gerry Rafferty and Bill Connolly, John Byrne is also the author of the BAFTA award winning Tutti Frutti and The Slab Boys. Commenting on this commission, John Byrne said: “It is an honour as a Scottish writer and artist, to create a picture to adorn the bottle commemorating Scotland’s National Poet. It is fantastic to see that 250 years on Robert Burns’ legacy is still being celebrated both at home and abroad.”

The bottles have been created as part of The World Famous Burns Supper Celebration, which The Famous Grouse is organising in partnership with Homecoming Scotland 2009.

For the first time ever The World Famous Burns Supper Celebration will unite both experienced Burnsians and Burns novices around the world encouraging them to come together online, registering their celebrations – big, small, traditional or unusual.

A website www.burnssupper2009.com has been created to capture everyone’s plans for celebrating this landmark Burns Night and establish a new World Record for the greatest number of Burns suppers ever held.

So far, over 1500 Burns Suppers have registered with celebrations taking place from Croatia to Canada, to Indonesia to Iraq, Argentina to Azerbaijan and Scotland to Sri Lanka.   

The special bottle which has the drawing of Robert Burns on the front also has
The Famous Toast on the back label – which was written by Mary MacIntyre, from East Kilbride, Scotland. Mary won an international competition to write a toast commemorating the Bard and his favourite tipple, whisky, and will be read out at the Homecoming official Burns Supper in Alloway by the First Minister on 24th January, 2009.  

‘Homecoming Scotland 2009 is a year long celebration kicking off on Burns Night (25th January) and featuring more than 300 inspirational events that connect with the year’s themes of Burns, golf, whisky, great Scottish minds and innovations and ancestry. Spanning the length and breadth of the country, the programme of events has been created to encourage Scots, people with Scots ancestry and those who simply love Scotland to ‘come home’ and celebrate in 2009.’
Scotland is a great place to celebrate Burns Night, particularly in 2009, but if you can’t get to Scotland you can still take part in the celebrations by joining The World Famous Burns Supper Celebration. Invite your friends, families and colleagues to join you by logging onto www.burnssupper2009.com

Anyone interested in applying for a limited edition bottle to auction at their burns supper, can email: charityauction@burnssupper2009.com.  Please note there are only 250 bottles and the chosen events will be decided by The Famous Grouse.



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Please enjoy our whisky responsibly www.drinkaware.co.uk

If you would like any further information or photography, please contact:
Katy Stollery, PR Manager, The Famous Grouse
Tel: +44 1738 493 777 / Email: kstollery@edrington.co.uk

Sharon Makepeace, Launch PR Manager, Homecoming Scotland
Tel: 07771 981 236 email: sharon.makepeace@eventscotland.org

NOTES TO EDITOR

The Famous Toast, by Mary MacIntyre

Tae Rabbie Burns Scotland's Son
Wha's words a million hearts hae won
We fill oor glass o' golden grain
The Famous Grouse we proudly drain
So here's a toast in celebration
Tae Rabbie, tae whisky, tae Scotland Our Nation

About Homecoming Scotland 2009 (www.homecomingscotland2009.com):

• Robert Burns is the inspiration for Homecoming Scotland 2009 as it is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scotland’s national poet. Burns Night is held annually on 25th January.
• The Homecoming Scotland 2009 programme kicks off over the weekend of Burns’ 250th birthday with events planned in key locations across Scotland including the Homecoming Burns Supper in Alloway – a focal point for The World Famous Burns Supper Celebration; a major celebration of the Bard at Celtic Connections in Glasgow; Burns Light, a huge lantern procession in Dumfries and, for the very first time Scotland’s collection of Burns treasures will be brought together in a landmark touring exhibition, opening in Edinburgh.
• A wider programme of Burns events will take  place throughout the year – for details see www.homecomingscotland2009.com
• Homecoming Scotland is a Scottish Government initiative managed by EventScotland, the national events agency, in partnership with VisitScotland, the country's   national tourism agency. 
• As well as Robert Burns, Homecoming Scotland events are also celebrating some of the other great contributions Scotland has given the world – golf, whisky, great Scottish minds and innovations, and as the ancestral home to millions of people around the world.
• Homecoming Scotland will engage Scots at home as well as motivate people of Scottish descent and those who simply love Scotland, to take part in an inspirational celebration of our culture, heritage and some of the many great contributions Scotland has given to the world.
• About The Famous Grouse (www.thefamousgrouse.com)
• The Famous Grouse is the no. 1 whisky in Scotland and no. 5 blended whisky worldwide.
• The Famous Grouse is exported to over 100 countries.
• Created in 1896 by founder Matthew Gloag, it was originally called The Grouse Brand. The brand became so popular that on August 12th 1905 it was renamed

The Famous Grouse:

• The Famous Grouse Experience is located at Scotland’s oldest working distillery – Glenturret. Originally established as a single malt distillery in 1775, today
• The Famous Grouse Experience is the most visited distillery in Scotland. (www.thefamousgrouse.com/experience).