LEUCHIE House is launching a special whisky to toast Burns Night.

The Leuchie Reserve single malt has been launched to mark this year’s celebration of the Bard.

Only 216 individually numbered bottles have been produced of the 15-year-old single-cask Islay malt, distilled at Bowmore Distillery in 2001.

Carolyn Roustone, head of business development at Leuchie House, explained how the idea came about.

She said: “We were thrilled to be offered the opportunity by Ian Macleod Distillers to have this limited edition bottling of the Bowmore 2001 single-cask malt to help raise funds for Leuchie House.

“It’s the first time we’ve been involved in anything like this at Leuchie so it’s a unique and exciting extension to our fundraising activities.

“We’ve had lots of local support to bring the whisky to market: from creating a striking and original design for the bottle labels to writing tasting notes to putting it on sale. We’re extremely grateful for all the help we’ve received.

“All the profits from sales of the Leuchie Reserve will help ensure people with MS, Parkinson’s and other long-term conditions are able to get the respite breaks they desperately need.”

Launched to coincide with Burns’ Night, the Leuchie Reserve single malt has been produced as a limited release to mark Leuchie House’s fifth year as an independent charity.

Whisky writer and expert Charlie MacLean described the malt as “an elegant example of the make with plenty of character. Pale gold in colour with initial scents of ripe pears and apples that soon give way to maritime notes, it is warming and lightly smoky, as one would expect from Bowmore”.

The Leuchie Reserve is on sale from Lockett Bros wine and whisky merchants, on North Berwick High Street, and online at www.lockettbros.co.uk