Poll launched to find location for Borders distillery

A Scotch whisky firm has launched a bid to get the Scottish Borders "back on the whisky map".

R&B Distillers is asking whisky drinkers to choose a location for the region's first distillery since 1837.

The firm has launched an online poll asking people to choose between Borders destinations including the Tweed Valley, Peebles, Kelso and Melrose.

Work would not start on the new project until the company's Raasay Distillery is complete and open to the public.

Company co-founder Alasdair Day said: "It's really quite remarkable that somewhere as iconic as the Scottish Borders has remained untouched by whisky distilling for such a long time.

"Just like whiskies from the Highlands, Speyside or Islay, a small batch whisky distilled in the Borders will have its own unique flavour, informed by the provenance and terroir of the region."

Voting will run for three months and the most popular site will be announced in November.

Any distillery in the Borders would be subject to the purchase of a suitable site, planning permission, and the successful establishment of the Raasay Distillery.

Last year Mossburn Distillers revealed proposals for a £40m distillery near the Jedforest Hotel at Camptown, three miles south of Jedburgh.