Drinks copywriting

Looking for a specialist drinks writer, packaging copywriter, whisky writer or ghostwriter?
Pleased to meet you. Now, what’ll it be?

For a whistle-stop tour, click below:

For the grand tour, keep on reading…

I’ve been writing about whisky and for whisky companies for more than 25 years now.

Recent highlights include:

• packaging copy for two eagerly anticipated inaugural releases – Ardnahoe (Product Launch of the Year winner at 2025’s Scottish Whisky Awards) and Strathearn (Master medal winner at 2024’s Spirits Business Design & Packaging Masters)
• VIP tour script for recently reopened Port Ellen Distillery (Silver Award winner in the Experiential Design category at 2025’s Scottish Design Awards and one of Time magazine’s ‘World’s Greatest Places of 2025’)
• brochure for The Vault by Chivas Brothers, the ultimate tasting experience where connoisseurs can explore a hand-picked selection of exceptional whisky casks
• toolkit and web content for Ardbeg’s award-winning Masters of Smoke education programme, plus copy for the Planet Ardbeg social media campaign
• range proposition and positioning copy for Gordon & MacPhail (2023 DBA Design Effectiveness Gold Award Winner)
• VIP tour script and book for Brora Distillery, until recently one of the lost icons of the whisky world, now restored to its former glory
• tone of voice development, website, social media posts, packaging copy, tour script and storytelling for Uile-bheist, the UK’s first brewstillery
• eCommerce campaigns for Malts.com
• series of blog posts for the leading Irish whiskey brand.

Over the years, I’ve written all kinds of copy for the whisky industry. Copy for:

• Brand Homes/Visitor Centres
• Brand positioning (including name generation & tone of voice)
• Online/digital applications
• Packaging copy
• Print
• Voice over scripts
• Other (including advertorials & brand/activation guidelines).

Brand Homes/Visitor Centres

• VIP tour script for recently reopened Port Ellen Distillery, an Islay legend now reborn after being closed for more than 40 years
• Interpretive copy and scripts for The Cairn Distillery, Gordon & MacPhail’s recently opened distillery in the Cairngorms National Park
• Tour script and interpretive copy for Uile-bheist, Scotland’s first and only brewstillery, rising from the banks of the River Ness
• VIP tour script for Brora Distillery, one of the lost icons of the whisky world, recently restored to its former glory
• Interpretive copy for the Clydeside Distillery, Lindores Abbey Distillery and Bowmore, including interpretive displays, scripted animation and film
• Storytelling/brand education experience for Bowmore.

Brand Positioning

• Name generation and brand/range propositions for Gordon & MacPhail (2023 DBA Design Effectiveness Gold Award Winner), Bowmore, Douglas Laing, The Dalmore, Bunnahabhain and Black Bottle
• Positioning copy and tone of voice development for One Point Six English whisky, putting Manchester on the single malt map, Uile-bheist, Strathearn and more
• Brand stories for a selection of QSI (Quality Spirits International) brands.

Online/Digital

• Series of blog posts for the leading Irish whiskey brand
• Copywriting for Ardbeg’s Masters of Smoke education programme
• eCommerce campaigns for Malts.com
• Social media posts for Uile-bheist
• Websites for Ian Macleod Distillers, Bowmore, Glen Garioch, Strathearn Distillery and Uile-bheist
• Award-winning app for Jameson: Jameson Great Urban Escapes – The Insider’s Guide to the World’s Great Cities
• Several features on whisky for Global Friends of Scotland – website showcasing the best that Scotland has to offer the world in the areas of culture, education and business.

Packaging Copy

• Packaging copy for Bowmore (from several incarnations of its core range and travel retail exclusives to limited editions, including Bowmore 1957 54 Years Old – the oldest Islay single malt ever released), Douglas Laing, Strathearn, Ardnahoe, The Macallan, The Famous Grouse, The Glenlivet, Smokehead, Bunnahabhain, Uile-bheist and many more.

Print

• Leaflets, brochures and books for Ardbeg, Black Bottle, Bowmore, Brora, Chivas Regal (The World’s First Luxury Whisky), Glenmorangie (The Definitive Guide to Scotch Whisky), Jameson, the Maison by Pernod Ricard Global Bartender Training Programme, The Irish Whiskey Academy, The Macallan, The Vault by Chivas Brothers and more
• Flagship brochure on Scotland’s Food & Drink for Scottish Enterprise
• Sales collateral for Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

Voice Over Scripts

• Voice over/film scripts for Bowmore, The Cairn Distillery, Clydeside Distillery and The Irish Whiskey Academy, the centre of excellence in Irish whiskey education.

Other

• Activation materials for Ardbeg, Glenmorangie and The Macallan
• Press releases, advertorials, adverts, email campaigns, sales presenters and trade packs for Bowmore, Chivas Regal, Jameson, Glenmorangie, Glengoyne, Langs Supreme and the Kylin Spirits Group, promoting Kylin Duality of Spirits, the first Chinese baijiu and Scotch whisky hybrid
• PR Toolkits for Bowmore, Glengoyne and The Macallan 
• Brand Guidelines, Global Travel Retail Activation Guidelines and Drinks Toolkits for Ballantine’s, Bowmore, Chivas Regal, Glen Garioch, Royal Salute and many more.

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Not averse to mixing my drinks, projects for other beverages include:

• voice over/film script for Belvedere Vodka
• website and packaging copy for Uile-bheist brewstillery’s range of lagers and beers
• website and packaging copy for Papa Bois cask-aged rum
• website, brochures, scripts, presentations, education/training materials and more for Absolut Vodka
• advertorials, Activation Guidelines and Drinks Toolkits for Beefeater Gin
• sales presenter and positioning copy for Edinburgh Gin
• packaging copy for London Hill Gin
• series of booklets covering nine major drinks categories, including Absinthe and Anise, Champagne, Cognac, Gin, Rum, Tequila, Vodka and Whisky, for the Maison by Pernod Ricard Global Bartender Training Programme.