Ali Levack, piper and frontman of Scottish trad band Project Smok, has turned whisky maker after being enlisted to play to casks of Wee Smoky whisky prior to bottling to enhance its flavour and no, this is not April the 1st folks. Ali, from Dingwall, and BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of 2020, played to the casks to enhance the flavour, a process known as ‘sonic-aging’.
The partnership began when Project Smok auctioned naming rights to their new single in a creative way to tackle loss of income due to cancellation of live gigs during the pandemic. Wee Smoky won the auction, and will celebrate the release of the song “Wee Smoky” with its own release of 550 special edition bottles, with £1 from each bottle going to the neo-trad trio.
Ali Levack said. “Playing to whisky casks was a new experience. I loved being part of the whole process, from playing our music to the whisky while it aged to drinking it while listening to our recorded song. The song and the whisky go very well together!
“When everything froze in March last year, we didn’t think we’d be in the same position more than 12 months later.
“We’ve had to think outside the box as to how we can generate income until we can start playing live music again. Auctioning off naming rights to a song was an idea we didn’t think would work, but it has ended up with us having our own whisky named after us, which is a dream come true.”
On the bottles will be a QR code which will take drinkers directly to “Wee Smoky” on Spotify.
On the bottles will be a QR code which will take drinkers directly to “Wee Smoky” on Spotify.
Wee Smoky‘s founder, Edinburgh-based Rory Gammell, said, “My dream was for Project Smok to headline our launch party. Unfortunately, those plans were put on hold. Nobody embodies the spirit of our brand quite like them. They’re non-conformist and I couldn’t think of a better example of Scottish flair – they’re a remarkable band with a unique sound.”