ALLOA is playing an integral part in a former Advertiser editor's venture into the world of craft spirits.

Michael McCartney, who worked at the paper between 2012 and 2015, is one of eight co-founders of the Jacobite Spirit Company – a start-up rum distillery.

Their signature product, The 45 Scottish Spiced Rum, is a homegrown, premium drink made using locally-sourced botanicals and sustainable Scottish materials.

In their pursuit of authenticity, they have tapped into Alloa's glass-making expertise and heritage by using bottles made at O-I.

The company has grown throughout the spring and summer by selling The 45 directly online and delivering for free throughout the UK.

With bars and pubs closed for the majority of that time, Jacobite Spirits have used social media to bring the new brand to the public's attention.

As well as doing their best to sell by conveying the rum's look and taste – described by Michael as "unique and delicious" – the company tries to keep its followers educated and entertained.

This includes keeping them up to date with rum's changing place in the drinks industry, as well letting them in on how the team works together to create the rum from the ground up, and telling the story behind the Scottish ingredients and products used to make it.

Among those products are the bottles from Alloa's O-I. One recent post on Jacobite Spirits' Facebook and Instagram pages explained how looking at the bottom of the bottle doesn't just tell people they're out of rum, it also contains information on the model, mould and factory it came from.

Michael said: "Craft distilleries display their authenticity by explaining how they are distilled with botanicals and other special ingredients.

"We know that's important to our customers – they are happy to pay a premium price because they know they are getting something different that has been handmade, rather than a mass-produced brand they can pick up in the supermarket.

"But we also want our rum to be available to everyone. So we try to make our engagement with the public as fun and interesting as possible.

"We post a lot of serving suggestions and cocktail recipes, because who doesn't want to buy a drink that looks appealing, and tastes unique and delicious? We think ours does and we don't want people to be in any doubt about that.

"What our customers respond to best of all, though, is information about any successes we've had as a team and how the drink is brought to them – including things they didn't know about bottling and the spirits industry.

"That also relates to sustainability, which we put a lot of value on. O-I's bottles are infinitely recyclable and go a long way towards helping us with that."

To find out more about the Jacobite Spirit Co, or to buy a bottle of the The 45, visit www.jacobitespirits.com