Independent bottlers, Douglas Laing & Co, have distilled and released it’s first Strathearn Single Malt after acquiring Strathearn Distillery marking the re-launch of the brand. A family firm, the independent bottlers and blenders first visited Strathearn in 2013 and acquired the Distillery in 2019, adding ‘distiller’ to its title for the first time in the company’s history.
Bottled from 32 specially selected casks including a combination of ex-Bourbon, Virgin and ex-Sherry oak, some of which were inherited when Douglas Laing acquired the Strathearn Distillery, it has been hand-crafted without using any automation – from manually carrying malted barley into the Distillery, and mixing it with local Highland water in one of Scotland’s smallest mash tuns.
Overseen by Lead Distiller, Angela Brown, the raw ingredients go through a long fermentation time, lasting 144 hours, and the slow distilling process produces a single barrel a day, reflecting, say Strathearn, the scarcity and quality of the whisky.
Cara Laing, Managing Director of Douglas Laing & Co, and third generation in the family business said, “This moment has been a long time coming, and one that we are extremely proud to share with the world. As the third generation at the helm of Douglas Laing, I am proud to be leading this move into this exciting new venture of distilling.
“Our Strathearn Distillery team make a barrel of spirit per shift or, simply speaking, a barrel a day. This may be a drop in the ocean compared to some distilleries, but for Strathearn, it’s a proudly hand-crafted drop that embodies the spirit of the distillery.
“Strathearn is the epitome of quality over quantity. It is a part of our family history, but rest assured this is only the beginning for Douglas Laing Distilling.”