Top father and son/daughter spirits teams

As Father’s Day approaches this weekend, we take a look at some of the father and son/daughter teams keeping spirits activity in the family.

Click through the following pages to view some of the top father and son/daughter spirits industry duos

From Scotch to Bourbon, gin to blogging, a number of fathers have passed their genetic predisposition to the spiritual on to their offspring.

The spirits industry has long been driven by independent family firms, but a number of companies continue to operate with family working together on a daily basis.

Indeed, some people would certainly see it as a challenge to work closely with their parents, but some of these father and son/daughter duos have worked together for decades, whether as joint master distillers or business co-founders.

In celebration of Father’s Day this Sunday 19 June, we’ve compiled a list of some of the pioneering father and son/daughter teams in the spirits industry. Click through the following pages to take a look…

Eddie and Jimmy Russell

Wild Turkey’s Jimmy and Eddie Russell became the first father and son master distillers in the industry when their joint appointment was announced in January last year. The transition, which also marked Jimmy’s 60^th anniversary, saw Eddie promoted to the role of master distiller from associate distiller. After 34 years at the company, he also took on additional brand ambassador duties.

At the time of Eddie’s master distiller appointment, Jimmy said: “When Eddie began working at the distillery, I made him do every job there was, even cutting the grass, so the other employees wouldn’t think I was showing him favouritism. I was probably a lot harder on him than I needed to be, but it was all to help him get to this very special moment today.”

Lincoln and Wes Henderson

Kyle, Wes and the late Lincoln Henderson

The late Lincoln Henderson was one of the foremost figures in the Bourbon industry and inaugural member of the Kentucky Hall of Fame. He was formerly master distiller at Brown-Forman, developing the Woodford Reserve, Jack Daniel’s Gentleman Jack and Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel products. After 40 years at Brown-Forman, he came out of retirement in 2006 to launch Angel’s Envy Bourbon, now owned by Bacardi.

Wes Henderson described his father as his “best friend” when Lincoln passed away at the age of 75 in 2013. Wes is co-founder of the Louisville Distilling Company, maker of Angel’s Envy, and also worked alongside his father as chief innovation officer at the company. Three of Wes’s six sons also work in the company, with his eldest, Kyle, acting as production manager.

Anthony, George, Peter and James Wills

Over the other side of the pond, Islay-based farm distillery Kilchoman – one of the few distilleries in Scotland to complete all parts of Scotch whisky production on site – is also a family endeavor. The distillery was founded by Anthony Wills, who also acts as the company’s managing director, while Anthony’s wife, Kathy, works full time in the distillery’s visitors’ centre.

Their three sons – George, Peter and James – cut their teeth in the industry by sweeping, cleaning and polishing in the distillery’s early years. Now, the brothers form the sales and marketing team for Kilchoman, representing the brand at tastings and trade shows around the world.

Stewart, Andrew and Scott Laing

The Laings are an established presence in Scotch whisky. Stewart Laing teamed up with his sons, Andrew and Scott, to form bottler and blender Hunter Laing & Co following the demerger of Douglas Laing & Sons, which saw Stewart’s brother Fred form Douglas Laing & Co (see next slide).

Earlier this year, Hunter Laing & Co revealed plans to move into distilling for the first time with the build of a new malt distillery on Islay. Whisky entrepreneur brothers Andrew and Scott, along with their father, submitted plans to Argyll and Bute Council to build the £8 million distillery on land currently owned by Islay Estates. Andrew and Scott are also both directors at Hunter Laing & Co.

Fred and Cara Laing

After parting ways with his brother, Stewart, after the demerger of Douglas Laing & Sons, Fred Laing assumed control of Douglas Laing & Co, with his daughter, Cara, joining the company as head of brands marketing. Later becoming director of whisky at Douglas Laing & Co, Cara previously worked at Morrison Bowmore Distillers as marketing manager and at Whyte & Mackay as global brand manager of Jura.

At the time of Douglas Laing’s demerger, Fred said of his daughter’s appointment: “I confess, she brings exceptional and arguably better experience in the industry than I do. She has a great head for business, and an energetic, creative take on what’s needed in the industry; a trait that’s particularly important given our determination to strengthen Douglas Laing’s niche as a progressive, innovative company.”

William, James and Harry Chase

William Chase (pictured) set up Chase Distillery in 2008, using his sprawling Herefordshire-based potato farm to produce single estate spirits following the success of the Tyrells Crisps business. While the Chase spirits brand has grown exponentially over the years, Chase remains a family affair.

William’s two sons play a key role in the business, focusing on very different elements. James Chase is head ambassador for the brand and also oversees its marketing activities, often fronting stands at international trade shows and leading tastings for bartenders. Meanwhile, Harry oversees the production of Chase’s base ingredient as head of the farm.

Dave Worthington and Kat Presley

Dave and Kat are the father/ daughter team behind the excellent blog Whisky Discovery, highlighting whisky news, reviews and events. Dave first caught the whisky bug in 2012 after attending Whisky Live London, and soon brought his daughter on-board to launch the blog.

“Working with Dad is great fun, although he can be the grammar police when proof reading my posts,” said Kat. “He does most of the technical preparation as well as make all the travel arrangements for any trips, while I sort out venues and menus for tastings we host.

“He also has a bigger whisky budget than me so there’s always something interesting at home. The added bonus is that we have the perfect excuse for coming home late from any event as we can always blame each other!”

John, Jack and Stephen Teeling

The Teelings have firmly established themselves in the cannon of Irish whiskey. John Teeling, former owner of the Cooley Distillery before it was sold to Beam Inc, purchased the Great Northern Brewery in Dundalk from Diageo in 2013 through his Irish Whiskey Company in order to launch the Great Northern Distillery.

The distillery produces almost pot still and grain liquid entirely under third party contracts, with the majority of stock sold to the Teeling Whiskey Co, run by his sons Jack and Stephen (pictured). The brothers opened their new €10m Teeling Whiskey Distillery in June last year – marking the return of whiskey distilling to Dublin for the first time in 125 years.