Ally Reid

Here at quaichshop.com, we are used to providing a range of quaichs for presentation as sports trophies.  From golf to rugby, horse racing to curling, winners have proudly held aloft these historic trophies whilst celebrating their sporting successes!  We were recently delighted to supply such a trophy for the winner of the inaugural St. Andrews…

During our quaichshop blog of March 2021, we noted that: “Drawing on a long lived Scottish tradition, quaichs are featuring more and more frequently in wedding celebrations.  The use of a quaich during the marriage ceremony itself can be a very successful addition, with the new husband and wife sealing their vows by drinking from a…

Previous Quaichshop blogs have covered the planning and opening of the wonderful Holyrood Distillery, just down the road from us in The Pleasance, in the South Side of Edinburgh.  Located in the Old Engine Shed, the distillery is a stone’s throw away from the Parkside Street tenement in which my mother and her family lived,…

The first ever British Open Golf Championship was played at Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire, on 17th October 1860.  A field of only eight professionals competed for the coveted trophy – then the silver-buckled Challenge Belt.  The competition was played over three rounds of the twelve-hole course, in a single day, and Willie Park Snr.…

Way back in December 2018, when a global pandemic was really only occupying thoughts of science fiction writers and film makers, the Quaichshop Blog noted Diageo’s ambitious plans to build a Johnny Walker immersive visitor experience in Edinburgh.  We anticipated that this development would significantly enhance the successful whisky tourism scene in Scotland’s capital city.…

Our long lockdown journey seems hopefully to be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, at long last!  Many of the occasions which we want and need to hold, and participate in, have either had to be postponed, or have taken place involving greatly reduced numbers of people.  Weddings are one example of…

Quaichshop’s Sterling Silver quaichs are hallmarked at the Edinburgh Assay Office, which is one of the four Assay Offices of Great Britain.  The Edinburgh Office was established in 1457, and so for well over 500 years it has been assuring the quality of objects made from a range of precious metals.  This quality assurance helps…

A number of Quaichshop blogs have described the close relationship between Scotland’s loving cup and fine Scotch whisky.  We’ve spoken a lot about exciting new distillery ventures, particularly in Edinburgh.  A number of other blogs have been on the subject of innovative distillery projects in Scotland’s Highlands and the Western Isles.  However new projects, exciting…

The Port of Leith Distillery was founded in 2014, and is currently on course to open its doors in 2021.  The Company is committed to bringing a modern approach to the production of our national drink – as is evidenced by a two year research collaboration with Heriot Watt University, which underpins the project.  Until…

Back in summer 2018, the Quaichshop Blog came from the wonderful Orkney Isles, where we were visiting our good friend Carrie Paxton, whose glass studio (Ingaskeldt) is on the outskirts of Kirkwall.  We reported on a visit to the old farm at Corrigall, which dates from the 16th-18th Centuries, and is now preserved as a…