Saltire Rare Malt strengthens team
Fife-based independent whisky bottler Saltire Rare Malt has announced new hires to drive the brand’s growth.
Saltire was born from a longstanding partnership between friends and founders Nigel Heywood and Keith Rennie.
Based in Falkland, Fife, the company pays tribute to the ‘birthplace of Scotch whisky’. According to the brand, the Scottish market town saw the first record of Scotch whisky in 1494.
The Saltire Rare Malt Collection is curated by Hans and Becky Offring, who have collectively worked with whisky for more than half a century.
Rennie said: “Saltire Rare Malt was born out of friendship, vision and a passion for the very best single malt Scotch whisky. To see our company be so well-received across the globe really is a dream come true.
“Being successful is all about the team you build around you. The sheer quality, knowledge and experience we have across our team at Saltire make the future very exciting. We are honoured to have Hans and Becky curating the Saltire Rare Malt Collection – their incredible whisky know-how and the trust we have in them is a beautiful thing.”
To strengthen its team, Saltire has hired new senior team members, who have been tasked to take the company to the next level.
Jan Damen joins the company as European sales director, bringing 25 years of experience in single malt whisky.
Damen’s previous roles include operations director for Europe at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, group commercial and operations director at The Artisanal Spirits Company, and general manager at The Single Cask.
Saltire has also appointed Paul Bryant as US brand ambassador to lead the brand’s journey across the Atlantic.
The new hires join UK and Europe brand ambassador David McCallum and business development director Andre de Almeida.
Rennie commented: “Bringing our new hires Jan and Paul into the Saltire family again demonstrates that anything is possible with the best team around you. We’re raising a glass to 2025, and we can’t wait to announce what’s next.”
First anniversary
Launched in 2024, Saltire Rare Malt is available in the UK, Japan, Latin America, and the Netherlands, with new stockists in Belgium and Uruguay.
The brand will launch its first-anniversary bottling in May: a 14-year-old Linkwood, distilled in 2011. The celebratory bottling, aged in a refill American oak ex-Bourbon cask, will be limited to 74 bottles, offered at 54.1% ABV and priced at £160 (US$208).
The brand described the new release: “A beautiful nose. This is what you want from a Linkwood: nice, sweet and fruity; think strawberry candies as a top note. Then, cigar boxes and sugar-coated oranges with cotton candy. The ruby port wine vintage barrique added extra layers of fruit upon fruit. Simply a lovely, fruity dram with a smooth but full body.”
The brand’s collection includes single malt Scotch whisky releases from ‘well-known labels, rare gems and casks from lost distilleries’, described as ‘never rushed or hurried, but bottled when the right time arrives’.
Related news
Money and safety concerns stop young people going out
