Police were forced to close a road near the Macallan distillery in Moray this morning as hundreds flocked to the area to buy a rare bottle a whisky.
The AA released an unusual traffic report earlier today stating that the B9102 was closed in both directions because of 300 vehicles in the area.
One woman told the Press and Journal there were hundreds of cars circling Craigellachie all morning and some had camped overnight for a chance to get their hands on limited edition Macallan Genesis.
The rare bottle, priced at £495, went on sale on a first-come first-served basis at 9.30am.
A section of the B9102 has been closed at the #Macallan Distillery, Craigellachie at the junction of the A941 in the East to Braehead and Overton Cottage in the West. The public are urged to drive carefully and be patient. Updates to follow. #policescotland #keepingpeoplesafe
— MorayPolice (@MorayPolice) August 14, 2018
Angry drivers have been venting their frustrations on social media this morning.
Well that was fun trying to get to Macallan pic.twitter.com/6dByNs0F07
— Stew McIntyre (@MaltMentalist) August 14, 2018
Presume the Macallan didn’t realise so many people would turn up but maybe more thought should have been put into it!
— Louise Laing (@LouiseNicol1) August 14, 2018
Got up at 4 in the morning to travel to Macallan for a bottle of whiskey I am probably not going to get, absolutely ripping ??
— Ewen Spence (@Ewen_spence) August 14, 2018
Police said the B9102 re-opened at around 9.55am.
A spokesman for the Macallan distillery said: “We are experiencing unprecedented demand for our new Genesis Limited Edition bottling, which was created to celebrate the distillery’s innovative design and went on sale today.
“Despite making our customers aware that there would be no access to the site prior to 9.30am, people gathered outside in the early hours of the morning, causing a local road to become blocked.
“After we contacted local police to help minimise any disruption, the road was swiftly cleared, and sales got underway at the distillery when it opened at 10am.
“We are grateful to Moray police for their assistance.”