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Mangrove expands world whisky team
Spirits distributor Mangrove Global has named Kealan Lafferty its new world whisky portfolio brand ambassador.
The UK distributor has welcomed Lafferty, a hospitality stalwart and the head bartender of Happiness Forgets in East London, to its world whisky team.
Lafferty started his career in spirits behind the bar in London’s Soho before moving up north to the Aberdeen and Dundee bar scenes.
At Mangrove, he will work alongside the company’s curator of world whisky, Stef Holt, to drive ‘awareness and appreciation’ of Mangrove’s diverse portfolio.
Mangrove looks after the distribution of multiple whisky brands in the UK, including The English, Stauning from Denmark, Abasolo from Mexico, Indri from India, and Pokeno from New Zealand.
Holt said: “The value Kealan’s appointment brings to our trade partners knows no end. He’s knowledgeable, loves whisky, is warm, and has walked the walk in one of London’s most respected venues – the perfect combination for the role of ambassador.”
Lafferty will also travel across the UK to educate the country’s on-trade at the World of Whisky Roadshow 2025.
On the tour, he is set to visit the distributor’s partner venues to host hands-on sessions on world whiskies. Each session will include a tasting of between six and ten SKUs tailored to each venue and the area, as well as interactive training for bar teams.
Holt continued: “By going out ‘on tour’ to our partners in the trade, Kealan will deliver these sessions and tastings in his own unique style, in turn allowing bar teams to improve the experience they offer in-venue. Our world whisky portfolio is so diverse that there’s the perfect selection of SKUs to complement every range – and we know that bar teams are going to thoroughly enjoy tasting them.”
With the first few sessions complete, Adam Taylor, bar manager of The Hideout in Bath, commented on the experience: “It was great to see a line-up of bottles dubbed ‘world whisky’ yet getting to experience these individual drams as their own category within their respective nations.
“I found the tasting helped bring the expanding fascination of whisky worldwide into a positive perspective.”
Bars interested in getting involved with the World of Whisky Roadshow 2025 can contact Lafferty through Mangrove Global.
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