Occasionally, great ideas arrive in the pub. Such was the case for whisky enthusiasts and childhood friends Andrew Nicolson and Andrew Davidson, who, on returning from a trip to Ayr’s Whisky An’ Ai That festival, settled in a Glasgow hostelry to discuss ways of turning their hobby into a business. The resulting website, Whisky Blender (whiskyblender.com), was launched in November 2011. The concept is simple: users fill a virtual 700ml bottle with varying quantities of seven single malt whiskies. The end product is a totally unique, bespoke blended whisky, which the customer names. ‘People are having fun with it,’ says Nicolson. ‘The one that sticks in my mind was called Staple Gun Donkey Punch.’