THERE'S no question that whisky is important to Scotland - culturally, emotionally and economically. According to a Herald survey in 2015, the industry supports over 10,000 jobs in Scotland - and another 30,000 or so in the rest of the UK, and directly, 7400 jobs in rural Scotland. This includes employment in things like glassmaking. Total value of The Water of Life to the overall UK economy? Almost £5 billion.
When Diageo closed its Johnnie Walker bottling plant in Kilmarnock in 2012, 700 jobs there were lost