Charity spirit: Scots family distiller pledges MND Scotland support

Family-owned, field-to-bottle distiller, Arbikie Distillery, has announced that it will be donating £1 per bottle from on-going sales of their AK’s Gin to support the work of MND Scotland and the Euan MacDonald Centre for MND research.

Arbikie is based on the east coast of Scotland and is owned and run by the Stirling brothers. The pair named their AK’s Gin after their father, Alex Kirkwood Stirling, who recently passed away after living with the progressive terminal illness for a number of years.

MND stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles and may cause someone to lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink or breathe unaided. There is currently no cure or effective treatment for MND and the average life expectancy from diagnosis is just 20 months.

Alex Stirling farmed at Lunan Bay for over 60 years and built a sizeable mixed arable farming enterprise that provided an ideal base for the development of the Arbikie Distillery. The family wanted to celebrate his life and provide an on-going legacy by announcing this charitable donation in April, when he would have turned 84 years old.

The Stirling Brothers already have a close relationship with MND Scotland, and the Euan MacDonald Research Centre, and will be working with these charities to ensure their fundraising helps all of those affected by MND.

Iain Stirling, Director of Arbikie Distillery, said: “Our family is keen to support the great work already being done by our partners to support, prevent and cure Motor Neurone Disease whilst also celebrating the life of our father Alex Stirling.

“Our father was a humble and hard-working farmer who, along with our mother, gave us a great start to our drinks business and inspires us to create a truly world class family of spirits.

“Everything that goes into our drinks is grown by our farming business that was built by our mum and dad, and it just seemed an appropriate way to keep Dad’s memory alive and to give something back”.

Iain McWhirter, Head of Fundraising at MND Scotland, said: “We are delighted that the Arbikie Distillery, and the Stirling family, will be donating a portion of all ongoing sales of their AK’s Gin to support the work of MND Scotland.

“MND Scotland is the leading Scottish charity providing physical, financial and emotional support to people affected by Motor Neurone Disease, as well as funding ground-breaking research into a cure. We wouldn’t be able to do any of this if it wasn’t for people like the Stirling family helping us reach even higher.

“We have been humbled by the charity spirit of the Stirling family and we’re looking forward to working with Arbikie Distillery to make a big difference in the lives of people affected by MND.”

Photo: Stirling brothers Iain, John and David.