 |
 |
|
|
|
|
ANTIQUE WHISKY MIRROR SELLS TO RIGHTFUL OWNER A 100 year old advertising mirror has returned to its spiritual home—well almost! Measuring a massive 10 feet by 4 it is far too big to be displayed in our shop and now has to reside in The George Hotel, across the road. The mirror, featured in a recent Phillips auction in Edinburgh, advertises four whiskies sold by William Foulds & Co. ‘Distillers of High Class Scotch Whiskies—Paisley, Ardrishaig & London’ including the Loch Fyne on sale for 4/- (or 20p). Several people called to tell us about it and as owners of the Loch Fyne brand we just had to have this monster addition to our heritage—never mind that we had nowhere to store it! The Loch Fyne trademark was registered in 1884 by J. M. Borthwick and passed to William Foulds with their acquisition of the Glenfyne Distillery at Ardrishaig in 1889. On liquidation in 1919 the assets were acquired by renowned Glasgow whisky brokers Robertson & Baxter, from whom Loch Fyne Whiskies bought the trade mark in 1995. We decided that the mirror was part of the brand and something that many other brand owners would be very envious of. It was a bargain at any price —although a significant cost was moving it from Edinburgh to Argyll!
JIM BEAM SELLS TO Management Bargain Opportunity American giant, Fortune Brands, has sold its Jim Beam subsidiary—JBB Greater Europe, to a heavily financed management team in Scotland’s biggest ever management buyout. The deal involves a £208m debt for the new owners ‘Kyndal International’ comprising eight directors and managers of what was Whyte & Mackay and Invergordon Distillers. “The Americans have written off about £400m in this sale to rid themselves of an unhappy adventure into Scotch Whisky. Kyndal have got themselves a good buy.” Industry analyst Alan Gray of ING Barings told SWR. Kyndal now own Invergordon grain and Dalmore, Jura and Fettercairn malt distilleries, as well as Tullibardine and Tamnavulin (currently “mothballed”). ‘Kyndal’ as a name has an implausible explanation based on an “expression of our commitment to innovation”.
INVER HOUSE SELLS TO SIRIVADHANABHAKDI Pacific Spirits, part of the Great Oriole Group, controlled by Thai entrepreneur Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, has bought respected Scottish independent distillers Inver House for £56million. Pacific’s CE, Oooi Boon Aun, told us, “We have watched Inver House with great admiration for 14 years. This represents an important addition to our beverage interests. While Inver House will retain its independence and autonomy, we look forward to benefiting from the skills and experience of the talented workforce.” Two thirds of the cash goes to two founding directors who headed the £8.2m management buyout in 1988 when the industry was recovering from its greatest low. One tenth of the sale is to be shared by the 130 workers who benefit from an employee share scheme established in 1997; some will get £50,000. Inver House owns Balblair, Pulteney, Speyburn, Balmenach and Knockdhu distilleries, all working.
THE ULTIMATE WHISKY COLLECTION... ...is how Distillery Manager John MacLellan has described this gathering of ten bottles of 1965 Bunnahabhain, each signed by one of the distillery workers involved in its production and referred to in Ian Good’s interview (page 2). “This bottling using the very last cask of 1965 was the result of suggestions made to the Chairman of our company during his visit to the distillery and all decanting, bottling and packaging was done at the distillery. The total number of bottles produced was 594 and each bottle is signed by myself and one fellow worker giving ten variations. All were sold very quickly.” A tiny quantity was made available to LFW and we realised we almost had a complete set. With the assistance of distillery administrator, Lillian Mac Arthur, appropriate swaps were made and the unique complete collection is on display in the shop.
“I know of no other such collection, not even in our company” says John.
GEORGE URQUHART The whisky trade was saddened to learn of the death of George Urquhart, Chairman of Gordon & MacPhail, in September. We interviewed Mr. George, as he was known by his employees, in SWR4. It is evident there what a charming and influential man he was and without argument the father of the malt whisky business that we know today. Since becoming head of G&M in 1956, he steadfastly bottled single malts for connoisseurs to enjoy and G&M gained the highest regard in the whisky industry under his guidance. The company, which employs 114 people in Elgin, is now run by his three sons and one daughter. In 1998 he was joined by Prince Charles for the re-opening of the recently acquired and restored Benromach Distillery, a dream fulfilled. With G&M for over 60 years, Mr. George protected the integrity of the Scotch Whisky industry through changing and challenging times. He will be a great loss to all those who knew him or enjoyed the benefit of his vision. The interview is here....
|
