I had a dream. I wanted to raise funds for the centenary of one of the North's most renowned rugby teams our very own Kendal Rugby Union Football Club, founded on August 25, 1905.

Being Scottish and having spent ten years in a previous life' promoting and selling my country's greatest liquid, it didn't take me long to conjure up an idea for a special single malt whisky to help celebrate this historic event.

About 20 years ago, the famous Glenmorangie produced a 16-year-old bottling named The 16 Men of Tain' to honour the 16 who worked at the Glenmorangie distillery in Tain, Ross-shire.

What a fantastic idea - a 15-year-old malt whisky to complement the 15 men in a rugby team and call it The Fifteen Men of Kendal'! Add the first picture of a Kendal team from 1905 with the words Black & Amber Centenary Single Malt Whisky 1905-2005' and I'm almost there!

Well, not quite.

Who do I buy the whisky from and what's available? I had to think back to one of my earlier columns from January 2002 to find the only man around these parts who could make this a reality - Kendalian Paul Smith, who has been a solicitor in the town for nearly 30 years.

Paul embarked on his whisky crusade' in the 1990s after an unfortunate band of people who invested in malt whisky became embroiled in a huge amber web of deception, the upshot of which was too much whisky and too few buyers.

Paul set up The Malt Whisky Buyers Helpline in 1998 for those involved and there are now more than 3,000 investors on its database.

One of his first tasks was to take on the banks for the people who had paid by credit card and, except for one or two minor ones, they were all eventually refunded more than £5 million!

The other group of people, Paul included, who have actually got their whisky, were left with the problem of what to do with it. Paul decided that they could pool their casks to try to sell.

He looked at how much it would cost to bottle for personal consumption - at least then buyers got enough whisky to last a lifetime!

The second phase of the rescue package involved helping investors to either sell or bottle which is where Paul's invaluable knowledge could help my dream and hopefully Kendal Rugby Club.

Experience has taught Paul that it is not worth bottling until the whisky is ten, 12 or 15 years old. Each bottling can have its own name with the age and distillery listed on the label.

The good news for all malt aficionados is that these very unusual and collectable single malt whiskies will be at least half the price of what's on the high street.

Paul's first task was to find out what was available and, more importantly, suitable for such a prestigious occasion. Next was to find out at which Bonded Warehouse each cask was resting' and apply for preliminary samples.

From eight whiskies, all 15-year-olds of course, from eight distilleries, we narrowed it down to four.

To inspect and mark our chosen casks, Paul made arrangements for us to visit the Craigton Bond, just outside Glasgow.

Inspecting a cask that has been lying around for 15 years is very important. It should theoretically yield around 300 bottles but during this time every cask will suffer from seepage and evaporation - what is known in the whisky trade as the Angel's Share' - and can reduce the number of bottles by ten, 20 and more in damaged casks.

The longer a whisky is matured, the less is left in the cask and the more it tends to cost.

Thankfully, our chosen casks were in good condition so we ordered fresh samples for our final selection to be forwarded to Kendal.

The four we will soon be tasting are from the Tamdhu Distillery, in the Upper Spey; Glen Rothes Distillery, in Morayshire; Benrinnes Distillery, in Banffshire; and Macallan Distillery, from the Banks of the River Spey, also in Banffshire.

At the moment the latter, which has interestingly been matured in American oak rather than the usual sherry casks, is looking favourite.

Depending on our final choice, the price will range between £25.99 and £29.99 and will be at cask strength reaching around 55 to 60 per cent.

Keeping in tradition with such unique bottlings and much loved by the collector fraternity, each Fifteen Men of Kendal' bottle will be individually numbered.

The most desirable numbers 1-15 and 100 are planned to be entered in a Premium Raffle' at Kendal Rugby Club's Special Black Tie Centenary Dinner on Saturday, October 8, at the Castle Green Hotel, where it will be launched along with the club's long-awaited Centenary book, A Northern Stronghold, published by Kendal's MTP Media Ltd.

You will have the chance to purchase your own historic bottle after that date from the following Kendal establishments: The Wheatsheaf, on Kirkland; Burgundy's Wine Bar, on Lowther Street; The Sawyer's Arms, on Stricklandgate; The Oddfellows Arms, on Burneside Road; and The Kendal Rugby Club, at Mint Bridge, on Shap Road.

To order by mail contact MWBH, 98 Stricklandgate, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 4PU, tel: 01539-729580 or email mwbh@ukgateway.net