The Borders Distillery Quarter Cask Donation in support of OurWhisky Foundation

To commemorate International Women’s Day, we are very excited to announce that the Borders Distillery will today be filling a very special quarter cask to be included in the Demeter Collection, the world’s first curated collection of rare and collectible whisky dedicated to celebrating female achievement.

The collection will then be auctioned by Whisky Auctioneer in support of the OurWhisky Foundation.

International Women’s Day celebrates female achievement, raises awareness about gender-based discrimination and commemorates the global fight for women’s rights. Interestingly, International Women’s Day was first proposed at the 1910 International Women’s Conference in Copenhagen but wasn’t officially recognised by the United Nations until 1977.

What is the OurWhisky Foundation?

In the world of whisky, a traditionally male-dominated industry, one organisation striving to make a difference is the OurWhisky Foundation.

OurWhisky Foundation is a non-profit organisation which was founded in 2022 by drinks journalist and consultant Becky Paskin. The foundation was created with a mission to recognise, support and empower women working in whisky around the world and advocate for a more inclusive and diverse industry.

The foundation helps women to thrive in their careers by offering qualification and internship schemes, a mentorship programme, seminars and workshops specifically designed to help women successfully progress within the industry.

Through collaboration with the global whisky community, the OurWhisky Foundation also aims to challenge whisky’s outdated gendered image and promote the very real fact that women like whisky too.

The Borders Distillery

The Borders Distillery is a female-forward workplace with a strong female team working in areas ranging from production (we have six female distillers), finance, operations, private cask sales and marketing.

We fully support and advocate for women working in the whisky industry and recognise that women’s contributions to whisky have been vastly under-recognised. So, to show our solidarity and to mark International Women’s Day, the Borders Distillery are donating a quarter cask to The Demeter Collection for auction with the proceeds going directly to the OurWhisky Foundation.

The quarter cask, which is first fill ex-bourbon, will be filled today with our award-winning new make spirit, and signed by each female member of the team. Along with the cask, the winning bidder will receive warehousing, storage for up to ten years, bottling and labelling.

The Demeter Collection Auction

The inaugural Demeter Collection auction will go live on 29 March via Whisky Auctioneer and will be open right up to 8 April 2024.

The auction will feature 18 lots of rare whiskies from Scottish and English whisky distilleries, many of which are one-of-a-kind and every one designed to tell the compelling stories of the women behind the liquid. 100% of the proceeds from the auction, including Whisky Auctioneer’s buyers’ fee, will be donated to OurWhisky Foundation, which is fantastic.

We’re absolutely delighted to be part of the inaugural auction. If you would like to support this cause, and perhaps acquire a unique bottle or cask of something very special, you can register your interest and browse the lots on offer now at whiskyauctioneer.com.

Good luck!