Sell-out Launch for New Scottish Bottler as it Enters Global Market – Scottish Business News

Scotland’s newest independent whisky bottler, Saltire Rare Malt Whisky, has achieved remarkable success with its initial six releases of premium single malt whiskies, selling out completely as it enters the global market.

Based in Falkland, Fife, the company has already established a presence in the UK, Japan, Latin America, and The Netherlands.

Co-founders Keith Rennie and Nigel Heywood, longtime friends and experienced entrepreneurs, are now setting their sights on further international expansion.

Their target markets include Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the United States, and North Asian countries.

Over the past decade, Rennie and Heywood have amassed an impressive collection of over 250 casks, which they have been purchasing and maturing. Saltire Rare Malt Whisky’s initial releases included two trios of exceptional whiskies.

The first trio featured a 14-year-old Aultmore, 15-year-old Tamnavulin, and 17-year-old Glen Moray. The second trio comprised a cask strength 14-year-old Dailuaine, 14-year-old Ardmore, and 15-year-old Macduff.Each cask yields up to 350 bottles, with retail prices ranging from £79 to £105.

Saltire Rare Malt Whisky adheres to strict quality standards for their bottlings, ensuring a minimum ABV of 48.8% or higher and a minimum age of 14 years. All releases are limited and unique expressions.

The company is preparing to launch its next trio of whiskies in the coming weeks. This upcoming release will include a 17-year-old Caol Ila and two Speyside bottlings: a 14-year-old Benriach and a 14-year-old Dailuaine. Whisky enthusiasts can currently place pre-orders for these individual bottles online.

Keith and Nigel both hail locally and it was important that their company was linked to the historic area, which is home to Falkland Palace where Scottish kings once lived and first recognised aqua vitae – the water of life.

Keith said: “We wanted to honour the pedigree of Scotland’s liquid pride and started to quietly purchase casks of maturing whisky throughout the last decade.

“Now, 530 years after the official birth of Scotch in 1494, coincidentally at Falkland Palace, we thought it was the right time to release the first bottlings of Saltire Rare Malt.”

Respected whisky experts Hans and Becky Offringa, known internationally as The Whisky Couple, have been appointed as curators of the stock and will be responsible for the final liquid that is bottled.

“The couple boasts more than 50 years of experience between them and are well-known in the industry.

Hans said: “We’ve never connected our name so clearly to a specific whisky company before, but we really felt that this was the time and the opportunity to do so.

“The stock is of excellent quality and from a wide variety of distilleries which is exciting to explore.”

Saltire Rare Malt Whisky has also appointed David McCallum as the UK and Europe brand ambassador.

In his role, David will showcase the brand to consumers and trade across the country and will travel to introduce the brand to international buyers while exploring new market opportunities.

The whisky bottlers hosted a soft launch at the 25th anniversary of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival in May and have already sold more than 2,100 bottles.

Spirits writer Steve Rush of The Whisky Wire will host a special Saltire Rare Malt Whisky online tasting on his Twitter channel @TweetTastings on September 4 at 7pm.

The tasting will include the Caol Ila, Benriach, Dailuaine and Ardmore expressions and are free to attend online.

To find out more about Saltire Rare Malt Whisky and the next releases visit www.saltireraremalt.com