Independent Scotch whisky firm Douglas Laing & Co has today announces 100% ownership of Strathearn Distillery.

Established in 1948, the award-winning family business has been celebrated to date as a leading blender and bottler of small batch, hand-crafted Single Cask and Blended Malt Scotch Whiskies.

The Strathearn acquisition marks the first distillery in the Douglas Laing portfolio, whilst plans for the firm’s recently-announced distillery project in Glasgow continue to progress.

Highland region and Perthshire-ased Strathearn Distillery began production in 2013, and was a pioneer of the craft distilling scene. The multi-functional site encompasses distillation, warehousing and bottling, with hand-crafted values at the heart of its ethos.

Cara Laing, Keeper of the Quaich and director of Whisky in her family’s business, said: ‘Today marks a proud and historic landmark for Douglas Laing. For its first seven decades in the wonderful world of whisky, our family firm has been renowned amongst the finest independent bottlers, celebrated for our Remarkable Regional Malts and Exceptional Single Casks brands.

‘2019, our 71st year in business, is the year we take a monumental leap, adding “distiller” to our credentials and beginning a new chapter in our journey.

‘A distillery very much in its infancy, Strathearn affords us the opportunity to create an extraordinary brand home for our family business and a global single malt brand steeped in our family firm’s history, heritage and passion.’

Chris Leggat, CEO, added: ‘Strathearn is a wonderful addition to our portfolio. The Distillery’s handcrafted and premium approach to single malt Scotch whisky production is entirely aligned with our own values, with no attention to detail spared.

‘The acquisition comes at a time when Douglas Laing & Co is truly thriving. We are particularly proud to report double digit growth for a fifth consecutive year, plus nine new recruits to our team and several new markets opened recently for our core brands.

‘Douglas Laing’s Strathearn Distillery allows us opportunity to now invest further in our team, whilst becoming masters of our own destiny in terms of Scotch Whisky distillation.’

The existing gin and rum brands from Strathearn will continue to be available with ownership moving to a newly established company, The Whisky Garden Ltd.

The firm’s widely-acclaimed Remarkable Regional Malts brand encompasses The Epicurean (Lowlands), Timorous Beastie (Highlands), Scallywag (Speyside), The Gauldrons (Campbeltown), Rock Island (Islands), and Big Peat from Islay, collectively offering the consumer “The Ultimate Distillation of Scotland’s Malt Whisky Regions”. The family company also proudly bottles and markets its Exceptional Single Casks range, which includes Provenance and Premier Barrel Single Malts as well as the flagship Old Particular and Xtra Old Particular brands, encompassing both Malt and Grain bottlings.

Find out more at www.douglaslaing.com.