Whisky fans force road closure for limited edition Macallan bottles

Police were forced to close a road after hundreds of whisky collectors headed to a distillery desperate to get their hands on a limited edition bottle.

The AA released busy traffic reports for the area around the Macallan Distillery in Moray, which said around 300 vehicles were in the area on Tuesday morning.

Fans travelled from across the UK and some even camped overnight to try and snap up a bottle of the Macallan Genesis, priced at £495.

Police closed a section of the B9102 as cars were parked on verges and began to block the road.

Hundreds of customers gathered at the site early Tuesday morning, eager to buy the rare bottle of spirit.

The Macallan distillery saw 18,000 visitors last year - the new distillery has only been open for two months

Motorists tweeted their anger at the organisational problems, posting photos of the traffic that led to the distillery.

The road re-opened shortly before 10am but whisky fans continued to voice their anger online.

A spokeswoman for the distillery said procedures would be reviewed, adding: "We recognise that due to the demand and limited availability some of our customers may be disappointed not to have been successful in purchasing one."

Bar owners in Drumnadrochit near Loch Ness who successfully secured a bottle joked about the bizarre situation, saying it had riot shields at the ready.

The spokeswoman added: "Whilst every effort was made to communicate to our customers that there would be no access to the site prior to 9.30am on 14 August, a number of people hoping to secure one of these limited bottles gathered at the gates 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 and in light of the issues, we are reviewing our procedures."