A BUSINESSMAN who bottles Scottish whisky in a tiny North-East village is planning to sell it back to the Scots.

Whisky dealer John McDonough has built his £1.5m business from an industrial park in the former pit village of Annfield Plain, in County Durham.

Mr McDonough, whose grandfather exported liquor to US bootleggers in the 1920s, came up with the idea for Harvie's scotch three years ago when working for drinks company Grand Metropolitan in Taiwan. He has now built up sales there of £1.5m.

"Whisky has always been in our blood, so to speak," said the 47-year-old.

"The family always had stocks of whisky. My father always wanted me to learn how the industry worked.

"I came up with the idea after meeting my business partner, Mr Hung Ho, in Taiwan. We thought of it because high taxes on liquor imports to Taiwan were reduced and it was a country which had never really seen exports from Scotland."

So Harvie's, which employs only a handful of staff in Durham and has a small Taiwan office, buys casks of malt from a Highland distillery and bottles, markets and exports it from Annfield Plain.

The brand has grown quickly in popularity in Taiwan, where it is the third most popular Scotch after Macallan and Johnny Walker.

Its success has prompted Mr McDonough's plan to sell this year to Hong Kong, Japan and the North-East of England, before turning his marketing drive on Scotland.

"I don't see why it shouldn't be very popular up there," he said. "After all, it is a fine Speyside malt. I can't see the Scots turning their noses up at it just because it is bottled down here."

A Scottish Whisky Association spokesman said: "It's always good to hear of the growing Scotch whisky industry at home and abroad."