02/11/2026
A Call from Spike; A Missing Sharpie and a Bottle of Wh**ky!
First of all, yes I golf! Walking off the 18th at Barassie, my phone rang. It was Spike.
Over the past few days we'd been sending out beautifully printed photographic Certificates of Authenticity to more than twenty artists who have performed on our stage over the past ten years - we have a very limited edition of 200 bottles of the unique WinterStorm X packaged in one off collectors boxes and now they'll be accompanied by very limited signed certificates from one of our legends.
Anyway, Spike, the inimitable frontman of The Quireboys had received the certificates we had mailed but there was just one problem: I hadn’t included the Sharpie I had said I had in the accompanying letter and before he signed them, he wanted to know what colour he was to sign with!
I recounted the full story to Spike about the project; that to mark ten years of rocking by the Scottish seaside, we had bottled just 200 bottles of a ten-year-old Bunnahabhain Islay Single Malt Scotch Wh**ky. Distilled in 2016, the year of our first festival, and bottled in 2026, The WinterStorm X has been maturing while we have been making rock n roll memories.
I explained further, that inside the packaging, the individually signed certificates added another connection to those memories, featuring stunning photographs of some of the artists who have trodden the raked stage of Troon Concert Hall over the past decade.
Anyway, one thing lead to another and we discussed WinterStorm, Quireboys touring, a possible return to Ayr Pavilion (last played 1990 which he recalled being 23!) which in itself lead, rather appropriately, to him asking me if i knew about the history of the song called Bottle of Wh**ky.
I didn't. So, Spike came back with the following refrain.
"I had a fight with a bottle of wh**ky last night and the bottle of wh**ky won."
In my ignorance I wasn't sure of the reference but he enlightened me; he explained that in 2013 he had been asked to record the Frankie Miller song Bottle of Wh**ky, with the Scotland rugby squad for charity.
These are the little moments that we don't share enough of but combined become the details to the bigger WinterStorm story.
Naturally, after the call, I had to look it up and it became clear we had another wee tale to add to the many more in the WinterStorm archives.
Released in October 2013, the recording had brought together Spike’s unmistakable voice alongside the equally "unmistakable" vocals of members of the Scotland squad! The Charity Single was raising money for Scottish Rugby’s Murrayfield Centenary Fund for injured players, alongside ENABLE and Equalsay, two charities that it appears were supported by Frankie Miller himself.
The idea had apparently came from Scotland head coach Scott Johnson. After hearing Miller’s music in the film The Rum Diary, he explored more of his songs and thought Bottle of Wh**ky might work as a charity idea.
That idea evolved and eventually lead to a recording session in the Chamber Studio in Edinburgh, in October 2013, with Spike who was the personal choice of Frankie for the vocal.
The connection between Spike and Frankie however went much deeper than that single recording and eventually lead to the 2014 album, 100% Pure Frankie Miller, which pulled from Miller's song writing catalogue and built a friendship and a mission to bring those classic songs to new audiences.
Spike elaborated,
“Frankie’s music had meant so much to me over the years, and getting to know him and his wife Annette made it even more special. Recording ‘Bottle of Wh**ky’ with the Scotland boys was a great laugh, but it also brought people together for some brilliant causes. That’s what songs can do — they make connections, and those connections stay with you.”
So there I was, having just lost two quid on the golf game but picked up a gem from one of the biggest characters we've ever had at WinterStorm and we had another great tale linking music, friendship, Scotland and wh**ky.
So Spike will sign his limited edition of ten certificates along with the likes of Doug Aldrich, Geoff Tate, Bob Catley, Richard Jobson, Toby Jepson, Dante and Jools from Gun, Blaze Bayley, Chris and Tino Troy, Graham Bonnet, Uli Jon Roth, Robb Weir from Tygers and a host of others. They'll be slotted into the finished packages with the cask strength Ten Year Old Malt from Islay and they will become collectors' items before any even reach public sale.
But, and as schmaltzy as it may sound, for us, the real value is in the people and the ten years of memories represented inside each box.
Pre registered WinterStorm ticket holders had the first opportunity to acquire an advance purchase of a bottle and there are now less than a hundred remaining that will be exclusively available only to ticket holders until the curtain falls on WinterStorm 2026.
Any remaining bottles of WinterStorm X will only then be made available for public sale from 1 December 2026. With just 200 bottled, availability will be extremely limited and if you'd like to pre register for your chance to purchase one please click on the link below - clearly this is subject to availability
A single cask. Ten years of music. A lifetime of memories.
And next time, I’ll remember to include the Sharpie.
Watch the video of the recording with Scottish Rugby players here https://www.winterstorm.co.uk/a-bottle-of-wh**ky-a-missing-sharpie-and-a-call-from-spike/
