SCOTTISH First Minister John Swinney is heading to Kentucky in the US to talk turkey with bourbon business leaders.

Fresh from attending Scotland’s first men’s football World Cup match in 28 years in Boston, Mr Swinney will now fly south to Kentucky to lunch with US bourbon leaders, visit Kentucky Cooperage and Kentucky Bourbon Barrel, and tour a distillery with members of the Congressional Bourbon Caucus.

Mr Swinney hopes the visit will “keep up the momentum” after US President Donald Trump committed to axing his 10 per cent tariff on Scotch whisky in its largest export market — worth about £1 billion a year.

He said: “Scotch whisky and Kentucky bourbon share a deep, long-standing connection — they’re two of the world’s great spirits and of high value.

“Every year, millions of used bourbon barrels make their way from Kentucky to Scotland, where they’re used to age some of the world’s finest Scotch whiskies.

“The relationship between these two great spirits industries is genuinely symbiotic.

“My visit to Kentucky aims to build on both that shared heritage and President Trump’s commitment to remove the tariff for whisky, in a very important overseas market for Scotch.”