Zakazukha is partial to the occasional tipple, so when we splashed out on a bottle of fine Islay single malt scotch whiskey we were pleasantly surprised to see the good folk of Laphroaig using their noodle (and their prized real estate) for a cracker of a marketing idea.

You see the master makers of one of Islay’s best known distilleries give away one square foot of of their land to each of their ‘friends’ (and yes, as a purchaser of a bottle of one of their range you are immediately admitted as such).

Contained in the bottles presentation box is a small leaflet which tells you, “as a friend you will be given a numbered plot of our land that runs alongside our all important water supply – the Kilbride stream.”

To claim your plot all you need to do is go to their website, enter your unique reference number found on the back of the leaflet and you’re instantly the owner of your own piece of the UK.

You even receive a personalised certificate of ownership with your individual plot number. Once a ‘friend’ you can send messages to your ‘next door neighbours’, join chat forums, post photos, enter competitions etc. etc. etc.

If you ever visit the distillery you can view your plot and even claim your ground rent of a dram of their finest.

At the time of our purchase there were over 250,000 friends from over 150 countries, which makes for a very solid database of committed scotch aficionados. What a great way to engage with a targeted group.

Now if only the good folk at Leeuwin Estate in Margaret River would do the same.