Another episode of my Spirit of Speyside 2016 “in pictures” summaries – bringing you today to the Speyside Cooperage (Craigellachie – Moray) where we had the immense honour to witness a very rare ceremony : the blackening of two new coopers who completed their four years of apprenticeship and were then covered with flour, treacle, feathers and other dirty stuff by their colleagues.  Ending up in the last casks they had worked on, and rolled across the premises while their family and friends were watching the show from the above gallery.

Of course, after effort comes comfort and the guys were then offered a dram of the Cooperage’s own whisky, which has been specially bottled for them by a Speyside distillery (which identity has to remain secret… shhhh).

As I was trying to make my way through this mess (and the crowd of journalists), here are some pictures I managed to gather (note to self: if you ever happen to attend another blackening again in your life – which is highly unlikely though – do remember to wear dark clothes AND shoes)