That's all from Holyrood Live on Tuesday 27 February 2018.

Scottish ministers tabled their own alternative to the EU Withdrawal Bill at Holyrood.

The Scottish and UK governments are locked in a dispute over sections of the Westminster bill relating to devolved powers.

Image source, Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament

The continuity bill has been introduced at Holyrood, external as a stop-gap solution if MSPs do not consent to the UK bill.

However, the presiding officer has not backed the move, saying it is not for Holyrood to legislate on.

Scottish ministers "respectfully disagree", and are to press ahead with the legislation anyway.

The UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill has now been formally introduced at Holyrood.

Join us tomorrow to hear Lord Advocate James Wolffe's argument as to why he thinks the continuity bill is for Holyrood to legislate on.

Tourism Secretary Fiona Hyslop says there are few constituencies in Scotland which do not have links to the whisky industry.

The role of the sector and jobs provided by it are highly important to rural communities in particular, she says.

The cabinet secretary notes over half of Scotland's 123 distilleries welcome members of the public.

Around 20% of tourists will visit a distillery when they come to Scotland, she states, adding 43% of German visitors do so.

Ms Hyslop says more can be done to promote whisky trails, festivals and other aspects of the sector.

The first national tourism strategy will take forward links between tourism and whisky, she confirms.

Image source, Getty Images

"Authentic" Scottish whiskies are to be protected by a new trade alliance.

Scotland Food and Drink and the Scottish Craft Distillers Association (SCDA) have been brought together.

SCDA members will now become members of the government-backed body automatically. It has an objective of increasing the value of the food and drink industry by £30bn by 2030.

Craft distillers own and operate a still as well as manufacturing and bottling in Scotland.

Read more here.

Labour MSP Colin Smyth jokingly warns the Highlands that the Scottish borders is coming for its reputation for whisky.

He goes on to reveal the history of Annandale distillery.

Every distillery in Scotland is distinctive and comes with their own stories, he says.

It is little wonder Annandale distillery is attracting visitors from across the world, the MSP adds.

Image source, bbc

Scotland's visitor attractions received over 30 million visits during 2017, a rise of 9.7% over the previous year.

Sectors which fared particularly well in 2017 include castles and heritage sites (+14.7%), gardens (+13.6%), distilleries/whisky-related attractions (+11.8%) and museums and galleries (+7.5%).

The National Museum of Scotland and Edinburgh Castle each attracted more than two million visits - a first for any Scottish attraction.

Edinburgh continued to dominate the marketplace, with 11 of the top 20 attractions located in the city.

SNP MSP Richard Lochhead admits he is "in the mood for a dram".

The member welcomes the creation of several new distilleries and expansion of existing ones in recent years.

These are visitor attractions in their own right, he adds.

Whisky is not just about its production but also about the folklore - including smuggling - surrounding it, Mr Lochhead says.

Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton notes whisky makes up the vast majority of Scottish exports.

"Nothing excites my staff more than a day dedicated to whisky," she jokes.

Visits to whisky distilleries in Scotland are up by a quarter since 2010, Ms Hamilton notes.

Many of the jobs provided by the whisky sector are located in rural areas which allows young people to stay and contribute to their local communities, the Tory MSP adds.

Ms Hamilton highlights the growing market for whisky in China and says this will also help to increase the number of Chinese tourists coming to Scotland.

Image source, bbc

Ms Hamilton welcomes the new distillery to Hawick by The Three Stills Company, the first in the Scottish Borders since 1837, where a local visitor centre is planned.

We reported in 2016 that plans for the then £10m project to build a whisky distillery on a former industrial site in Hawick were approved.

The Three Stills Company said the distillery and visitor centre could create a total of 20 jobs.

Image source, bbc

Ms Hamilton uses her motion to praise the contirubtion that Scotch whisky makes to the tourism sector.

The Tory MSP says:

• 2016 saw a record 1.7 million visits to Scotch whisky distilleries, as popular as the Scottish National Gallery and St Paul’s Cathedral
• average visitor spend was £31 per person and £53 million overall in 2016

Image source, bbc

Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton will now raise a dram to the Scotch whisky industry and its contribution to tourism.