We’re baaaack! Pick the Glenfiddich Five to win a terrific £632 prize package from R.G. Hardie & Co!

The Glenfiddich Piping Championships are the annual unofficial end of the UK’s solo competition year, before things start up again with the Scottish Pipers Society of London’s events in November in London.

The pipes|drums Pick the Glenfiddich Five contest is back, too!

pipes|drums readers can win a terrific prize package from our friends at R.G. Hardie & Co. by predicting the top-five overall winners at the 2026 Glenfiddich on October 31 at Blair Castle, Blair Atholl, Scotland!

No ghillie laces, cords or other strings attached. Email us your pick, and follow the directions below.

In alphabetical order, these are this year’s contestants, any of whom could not simply gain a prize, but could win the whole shebang:

• Callum Beaumont, Guardbridge, Scotland (Northern Meeting Clasp)
• Alan Bevan, Abbottsbord, British Columbia (Northern Meeting Clasp second prize)
• Chris Armstrong, Glasgow (Northern Meeting Silver Star)
• Calum Brown, Peterculter, Scotland (Northern Meeting Gold Medal)
• Alasdair Henderson, Edinburgh (Piping Live! Masters)
• Finlay Johnston, Glasgow (Bratach Gorm; Argyllshire Gathering Former Winners MSR)
• Stuart Liddell, Inveraray, Scotland (2025 Glenfiddich Champion; 2025 London Champion)
• Sean McKeown, Bowmanville, Ontario (Argyllshire Gathering Gold Medal)
• Iain Speirs, Edinburgh (Argyllshire Gathering Senior Piobaireachd second prize)
• Greg Wilson, Tai Tapu, New Zealand (Argyllshire Gathering Senior Piobaireachd)

What an amazing group of 10 of the world’s greatest pipers!

Interestingly, this year is the first since 1987 that the event hasn’t featured any of Jack Lee, Angus D. MacColl, Roddy MacLeod, or Willie McCallum, four of piping history’s greatest legends who, by our estimation, together won an astonishing 21 Glenfiddich Championships (a record nine by McCallum alone). Haste ye back, as they say.n incrediuble

Here’s what one lucky person will receive:

An R.G. Hardie Viking Practice Chanter: with a suggested retail price of £250 (before applicable tax and shipping)

R.G. Hardie says about the Viking Practice Chanter:

Channel the spirit of ancient Viking craftsmanship with this beautifully detailed Viking Heritage Practice Chanter. Blending traditional woodcraft with striking Viking iconography, this practice chanter is designed to deliver both exceptional aesthetics and excellent sound for pipers of all levels.

The engraving features a Vegvisir (Viking Compass), seamlessly integrated with Viking patterns and a custom-designed dragon motif that symbolizes the bow of a Viking longship. Runic inscriptions for “Peter Henderson” are also featured, along with bind runes symbolizing Courage, Protection, Music, Friendship, and Good Luck.

Using state-of-the-art design software, we developed a one-of-a-kind Viking design, rendered in fine detail with advanced laser engraving. Each chanter is handcrafted from African Blackwood, instrument-grade boxwood, and nickel, featuring a unique laser-engraved design.

Our innovative plastic lining system protects the wood’s interior from moisture-related stress and strain.

The holes are countersunk, and it comes complete with a reed.

But wait, there’s more!

Also from R.G. Hardie:

• Deluxe Practice Chanter Case (£35)
• Heritage Cover & Cords of choice (four options of each from which to choose) (£94.50)
• Pipe Band Plugs (£15)
• RGH Deburring Tool (£15)
• Tone Protector (£79.50)
• Bucket Hat (£20)
• Hardie Towel (£7.50)

All neatly packed into a R.G. Hardie Flight Case (£135)

The entire package totals GBP£632 / USD$846 / CAD$1,189 / NZD$1,483!

Here are the rules, so please read carefully:

• Readers must submit their entry via e-mail – click here. (Please use the template automatically generated. If you have trouble with the auto-generated email, just email your picks with that subject line to editor(at)pipesdrums.com)
• Entries must list the competitors in their aggregate order of finish – 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th.
• Only one entry per e-mail address (all multiple entries from the same e-mail address will be discarded; please don’t try to game the system).
• In the event of aggregate ties between piping competitors, the Piobaireachd event determines the overall Glenfiddich champion.
• Submissions should include a full postal snail-mail delivery address.
• The winning entry must correctly pick the 2026 Glenfiddich Champion, the overall first-prize winner.
• Ideally, the winning entry will pick the exact prize list in the exact order of finish.
• If more than one entry gets the list precisely right, a random draw will be held.
• If no entry is entirely correct, the submission that picks the first-prize winner and scores the most points under the following system will win: 3 points for choosing a piper in the right spot, and 1 point for including a piper who made the top-five aggregate prize list but not in the correct place.
• If still tied, a random draw will decide the winner.
• Entries close at 18:00 GMT, Friday, October 30th.
• Glenfiddich adjudicators, competitors, officials, the Jukeeatholl and his servants are not eligible to win.
• The winner will be notified by e-mail (please check your email if you feel your entry might be close), and a story will be published soon after. The winner’s name will be withheld if desired.

Readers are encouraged to browse pipes|drums for results from this year’s solo piping events worldwide.

So, research the players and check out our Big Prizes database for past success at the Glenfiddich and other significant events.

Thanks to our sponsors, R.G. Hardie & Co., and good luck to all readers who enter our Pick the Glenfiddich Five contest, and to all competitors on October 31st at Blair Atholl Castle.

Good luck and, as always, Stay tuned.