CHARITIES on the whisky island of Islay have raised a dram of Lagavulin to celebrate sharing in a £588,000 boost from the distillery’s 200th anniversary.

Representatives of the good causes, including the local swimming pool, cyber cafe, arts and festival groups, visited the distillery yesterday to mark the handover of funds raised through a special bottling of the single malt.

Islay Heritage – a new initiative to explore, conserve and promote Islay’s historical and archaeological sites – is the main beneficiary, with a grant of £318,395 from the Lagavulin Legacy fund.

Distillery manager Georgie Crawford said: “The celebrations for Lagavulin’s 200th anniversary last year were fantastic, but the absolute highlight of it all is to be able to hand over such a significant financial contribution to these good causes. It makes me incredibly proud to welcome our friends and partners here at the distillery to mark the handover of the funds.”