Butcher James Pirie & Son has been a fixture in the village of Newtyle since 1960, and the man who gave it his name was once the oldest working butcher in Britain: still going strong at the age of 87. His son Alan now runs the business and, although the base recipe dates back to the store's opening, his sausages have changed with the times. 'Pork and Dundee marmalade is a very popular one,' he says, outlining some of the nearly 40 sausage recipes he and his staff have developed (around half a dozen are on sale at any one time) over the years. 'Sweet chilli and Irn-Bru is another, also pork, mustard and ginger, then there's pork, caramelised red onion and sage.'
 
Across its more traditional lines, the business has won 176 awards in total, including Scottish trade awards for best beef and pork sausages, and best haggis. 'We like to try out new innovations as we go,' says Alan, who sources all of his pork and beef from local farms. 'Our younger customers like the hot and spicy sausages, which goes to show how eating habits have changed over the years.'