Top 10 new Scotch whisky brands

In an industry as established and competitive as Scotch whisky, it’s something of a rare occurrence for producers to launch a completely new stand-alone brand.

This is our selection of the top 10 new Scotch whisky brands launched in the last two years

The sector’s much reported lack of old liquid also means producers often struggle to secure the necessary stocks for their existing portfolio, let alone launch an entirely new label.

However, while some distillers continue to expand their portfolios with brand extensions, experimenting with age, oak and base ingredients, others have brought something completely new to the market.

While Diageo recruited the world’s most famous footballer to launch what was quite possibly the most high profile new Scotch brand in recent history, William Grant & Sons pioneered the burgeoning grain category.

Some bottlers and blenders unveiled new labels, while new distillers sourced aged third party liquid for their inaugural bottlings.

The recent surge in planned or recently constructed distilleries, however, means the market will most likely see an extensive new hoard of brands launched in the years to come.

Click through the following pages to discover our pick of the top 10 new Scotch whisky brands launched over the past two years. If you think any essential choices have been missed off this list, let us know by leaving a comment below.

Haig Club

The most talked-about new Scotch whisky brand in recent years is undoubtedly Haig Club, a single grain label launched in collaboration between drinks giant Diageo, football superstar David Beckham and music mogul Simon Fuller.

Created from grain whisky from Cameronbridge distillery, home of the low-volume Cameronbrig single grain whisky, Haig Club will launch as a 40% abv, no-age-statement product comprised of a variety of aged whisky from three types of cask: first-fill, rejuvenated and refill Bourbon barrels.

Beckham has played a “key role” in developing the brand, which sits in Diageo’s Reserve Brands portfolio, and has fronted its multi-million pound marketing campaign. The brand aimed to bring grain Scotch whisky in to the mainstream, taking lead from another recently launched grain-based label…

Girvin Patent Still Single Grain

One of the first pioneers of the grain Scotch whisky revival was William Grant & Sons when it launched the Girvan Patent Still Single Grain Whisky brand at the end of 2013. Produced at the Girvan Distillery in the Scottish Lowlands, the whisky was previously predominantly used to create Grant’s blended Scotch.

Comprised of whisky aged in first and second-fill Bourbon casks with “some Sherrywood and virgin oak”, Girvan Patent Still 25 Year Old was the first bottling launched under the new standalone brand, priced £250.

This launch was followed by a 30-year-old, a no-age-statement called Patent Still No. 4 Apps and a cask strength bottling. William Grant & Sons said it is aiming to make Girvan a million case brand by 2073.

Prometheus

Earlier this year, the newly opened Glasgow Distillery Company launched its inaugural Scotch whisky brand, called Prometheus. The brand’s first expression – a 26-year-old Speyside single malt – is comprised of third party sourced “rare” casks, since GDC’s own liquid will not be ready to bottle for a number of years.

Prometheus 26 Year Old, named after the titan who according to Greek mythology gave man fire, is said to combine the “peaty fire of the islands with the rich complexity of the Highlands”.

GDC became the first distillery to open in Glasgow in more than 100 years after it launched the Makar Glasgow Gin brand, beating the Glasgow Distillery and Visitors’ Centre to the post.

Barrelhound

Pernod Ricard said it was aiming to bridge the gap between Bourbon and Scotch with the launch of a more “accessible” whisky blend, called Barrelhound.

Exclusively available in New York and Washington DC, the Scotch is a no-age-statement expression aged in American oak ex-Bourbon barrels described as having a “sweet, more accessible taste profile”.

The brand, named after a distillery’s “nose” who discovers the best barrels for blending, is also targeted towards the cocktail market.

Tasgall

As proven by the success of Aldi’s own range of Scotch whiskies in our Global Scotch Whisky Masters, supermarket own label spirits are really growing to rival the quality of established brands. UK supermarket giant Asda aimed to capitalise on opportunities in the category with the launch of its first ever collection of own-brand Scotch whiskies, called Tasgall.

Beginning with a 25- and 30-year-old variant priced £50 and £60 respectively, the range has been created using malt whisky sourced from Speyside and Highland distilleries, as well as grain whisky from Lowland distilleries.

Darkness!

Launched by Maverick Drinks last year, Darkness! is a range of Scotch whiskies that takes well-known brands and further ages them in 50-litre Oloroso and PX Sherry casks for three months.

Described as a “bold, brash, beastly new range”, Darkness! takes liquid from some of Scotland’s most renowned distilleries, including Ardbeg, Clynelish and Macallan, and gives them a Sherry twist. Maverick Drinks recently expanded the Darkness! range with bottlings from Invergordon, Ben Nevis, Tobermory and Bruichladdich.

The Feathery

Launched by Spencerfield Spirit Company early last year, The Feathery is a no-age-statement blended Scotch whisky brand aged entirely in Sherry wood.

Described as having nutty, creamy vanilla and ginger notes, the blended malt has been inspired by the traditional 17^th century golf balls that were made from hide and stuffed with chicken feathers. It was the first launch in a range of products by Spencerfield that celebrate Scottish craftsmanship, including the recently unveiled Seaside Gin.

Edinburgh Whisky

New Edinburgh Whisky Ltd launched earlier this month with the release of three inaugural expressions: The Advocates Batch from the New Town Blends range, and two single malt cask releases from the Library Collection.

The independent blender and merchant was founded in the city to “provide superior whiskies for both international visitors and for home-grown whisky enthusiasts”.

Themed around Edinburgh’s Old and New towns, the whiskies are are available now in Harvey Nichols, Royal Mile Whiskies, Valvona & Crolla, Whiski, Vino and Peckham’s.

Amber Glen

Founded by CEO Samuel Minionis and director Nathan Lowry at the end of 2013, Amber Glen features a selection of blended and single malt whiskies targeted towards emerging market consumers.

The range carries low age statements and aims to “appeal to a new wave of consumers in emerging markets around the world”, as well as to new and younger age groups of consumers in the traditional export markets.

The brand launched with two variations of Amber Glen Classic Blended Scotch – one aged for a minimum of three and another a minimum of five years – and a five, seven and 11-year-old core single malt collection, with two older “spcial releases”.

Kininvie

William Grant’s Kininvie Distillery has been around for around 25 years and has largely been regarded as a somewhat mysterious operation that creates liquid for the group’s powerhouse blends, principally Monkey Shoulder.

However, in July last year, it was revealed that Kininvie would be internationally launched as a stand-alone single malt brand following an exclusive launch in Taiwan in 2013.

The brand’s first single malt – Kininvie 23 Year Old – is distilled in small batches, the first of which has been sold exclusively to Taiwan. Batch 2, comprised of around 7,000 350ml bottles, has been distributed among new markets.