The 12 dogs of Christmas

If you don’t love dogs, you’re in the minority. Fact.

According to data compiled by Pinterest and Airbnb, global searches for ‘dog friendly vacations’ were up by more than 146 per cent in 2019.

This is matched by stats from the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association that the pet dog population has hit an all-time high at 9 million, with 26 per cent of households now owning a dog. And last Christmas, top sales of calendars included ‘Guilty Dogs’, ‘Underwater Dogs’ and ‘Yoga Dogs’.

So bring on the gin dogs! It was only a matter of time. This month sees the launch of the Scottish Gin Dogs calendar, a specially created charity wall calendar for 2020 showcasing the dog-loving Scottish gin community up and down the country.

Each month features a cosy picture of the company pooch along with an exclusive gin cocktail recipe. You’ll meet Dawson of Isle of Skye Distillers; Bhrea of Glenwyvis Distillery in Dingwall; Mr Mackintosh who lives in Dunnet Bay at the home of Rock Rose Gin; Minnie from Persie Distillery in Perthshire; Murphy of Redcastle Gin in Angus; Kira of Colonsay Gin; Panza of Pentland Hills Gin; and Crumble of Kintyre Gin.

The Scottish Gin Dog calendar can be purchased on the Gin Club Scotland website at www.ginclubscotland.com/shop and is also available through the participating distilleries.

It costs £15.00 with all proceeds going to each contributor’s chosen charity, including Perthshire Abandoned Dog Society and KWK9 Rescue.

Chrissie Fairclough is tastings director for Gin Club Scotland, which runs touring and distillery-based tastings, as well as offering tasting kits for people to run their own events. Visit www.ginclubscotland.com

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