Hepburn's Choice Ben Nevis 2011 11 Year

Distillery

The following was written by Andrew Ferguson for Celtic Life Magazine in 2020.

Ben Nevis distillery was established in Fort William in 1825 along the banks of the River Lochy, at the foot of Scotland’s tallest mountain, Ben Nevis. Though the distillery was founded by Angus McDonnell, it would be his kinsman, the literally larger-than-life ‘Long John’ McDonald, who would make the distillery famous. As you might have guessed from his name, ‘Long John’ was a giant, 6’4” and solidly built.

Above photo courtesy scotchwhisky.com. 

The British Empire was obsessed with Queen Victoria, and Queen Victoria with Scotland. Her subjects traveled north on the newly built railroads, deep into the Highlands to see what all the fuss was about. The town of Fort William and Ben Nevis became a popular attraction. Many of the visitors were not prepared for the conditions of the high mountains in the Highlands, where the weather can turn very quickly. When things went awry ‘Long John’ Macdonald, a well-known sportsman was often sent off to find them.

Long John’s fame spread across the United Kingdom when in 1841, the Duchess of Buccleuch failed to return from a trek up the misty mountain. Having set off in the dark with a large bell Long John returned later that evening with the young Lady and her party. Newspapers across the United Kingdom carried word of his heroics.

Long John McDonald became a partner in the distillery in 1830, taking full control the following year. He was a savvy businessman with a flair for publicity. Stories reported in the press in 1841 that the Duke of Sussex and King of Holland were among his customers. He sent a cask of Ben Nevis to Buckingham Palace to be opened on the 21st birthday of the newly born Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII. The Press ate the story up and his legend grew. In 1848, Queen Victoria paid his distillery a visit. Long John’s Ben Nevis whisky was a hit, selling all over the UK, but the ailing man had debts, massive debts. With a downturn in the market for Scotch whisky, and the banks unwilling to extend his loans, Long John Macdonald died bankrupt in 1856.

His son Donald stepped in, purchased the distillery, and revived its fortunes. He rebranded the whisky Long John’s Dew of Ben Nevis, put an age statement on the bottle and sales soared. In 1878 with demand for whisky surging again, Donald expanded the distillery. By 1886, when the Victorian whisky writer Alfred Barnard called on the distillery, it was distilled over 1 million liters a year, employing more than 230 men, and exporting Long John’s Dew of Ben Nevis all over the English speaking world.

The McDonald family retained control of the distillery until 1941. There would be a number of owners over the following fifty years, including Canadian booze baron Joseph Hobbs. But by 1986, surplus to demand, Ben Nevis Distillery was closed, as a market correction wrought devastation on the Scotch whisky industry as a whole. The closure was short-lived and the distillery’s prospects revived when in 1989 it was purchased by the Nikka Whisky Co. of Japan. Nikka’s interest in Ben Nevis was primarily to support their own Japanese Blended Whisky. It may come as a shock to many of you, but Japanese whisky producers are not prohibited from using foreign whisky in their bottlings, and most do, though the rules governing that are set to change. Currently, up to 75% of Ben Nevis’ production is sent to Japan every year.

Dire though this may sound, the takeover by the Japanese was not all bad. In 1991 the new owners opened a visitor center, and in 1996 they started bottling and selling Ben Nevis as a single malt. The distribution of official bottlings of the whisky is fairly limited but independent bottlings can be found with a little effort. Ben Nevis distilled in the mid-1990s has developed a bit of a cult following. Count yourself lucky if you are able to track down a bottle of Ben Nevis 10 Year, or better yet the newly released first batch of cask-strength whisky. The advert on the facing page features a stunning exclusive cask bottling of Ben Nevis I was fortunate to source for my store. And this is to say nothing of the lovely and award-winning Nikka From the Barrel Blended Japanese whisky, in which there is almost certainly a healthy dollop of ‘Long John’s Dew of Ben Nevis too!

Ben Nevis Distillery is located on the outskirts of Fort William, a scenic town that is the outdoor adventure sports capital of the UK. There is lots to do in the area from mountain biking and water sports to hiking and climbing the famous Ben Nevis. A trek up the mountain takes 4-8 hours depending on your level of fitness. Don’t get lost though, the mists hide dangerous cliffs, and Long John McDonald and his bell aren’t around to rescue folk any longer!

Independent Bottler

Yes, these are two separate companies, but it is difficult to talk about one without talking about the other. So, let's kill two birds with one stone, shall we? - Evan

The Hatfields & McCoys. The Montagues and Capulets. The Laings and... The Laings?

History is full of family feuds. It is also full of long-running game shows promoting the vicious rivalry. Sometimes, though, a family doesn't need to have an outside influence to struggle against because the issue lies within.

The History

Douglas Laing is an independent bottler that was founded in 1948 by Fred Douglas Laing after he acquired the rights to the King Of Scots Blend. Fred Sr. and his wife had two sons. Stewart Hunter Laing was born in 1946. Fred Hamilton Laing (Fred Jr.) was born in 1950. Both brothers eventually joined Fred Sr. working at Douglas Laing. Before that though, they both had apprenticeships at other Scotch Whisky companies; something that seems to be a hallmark of families who make Scotch Whisky their trade.

Stewart Laing joined his father Fred Sr. at Douglas Laing in 1967. He had previously apprenticed at Bruichladdich Distillery and other places within the industry. Stewart and his wife had their first son, Scott, in 1979. A few years later in 1982, their second son Andrew was born.

Fred Laing Jr's first apprenticeship was at Whyte and Mackay starting in 1968, where he learned all parts of whisky production and business, including the art of blending. From there he moved to White Horse Distillers in 1969 to further enhance his blending knowledge. In 1972, he officially joined his Father, Fred Sr., at the family business of Douglas Laing. In 1982, Fred Jr's daughter Cara was born.

Fred Sr., AKA Fred Douglas Laing; the founder of Douglas Laing & Co, passed away in 1984. It was then up to his sons to run the company on their own.

Splitting The Family Company

Brothers' Stewart and Fred Jr. quietly – or not so quietly – didn’t really get along. This eventually led the two to go their separate ways in 2013. Stewart Laing took with him some brands created at his former company such as Old Malt Cask and Old & Rare. Fred Laing Jr. kept the Douglas Laing and brands such as Big Peat, Old Particular, and of course, the exclusive rights to his fabulous moustache.

Fred Laing Jr. & daughter Cara Laing - the new Douglas Laing

Douglas Laing continued on, operating under Fred Jr's stewardship to this day. They have created some new labels since, focusing more on the Blends and Blended Malt side of things than Hunter Laing typically does. Fred Laing was joined by his daughter Cara at about the same time as the split.

Douglas Laing does bottle single casks of whisky under the Provenance, Old Particular and XOP labels. However, with Fred Jr's knowledge in blending and the brand King of Scots still in hand, the company has kept a big focus on blending, introducing an entire line of regional blended malts over the late 2010s. The company has dubbed this lineup The Remarkable Regional Malts of Scotland. These include:

• Big Peat - a blended malt made entirely of single malts from Islay
• Scallywag - representing the Speyside region
• Rock Island (originally named Rock Oyster) - made from malts from the Inner Hebridean Isles of Skye, Mull, Jura, Islay, with the Orkneys and Arran thrown in just for kicks
• Timorous Beastie - name taken from a Robert Burns poem with malt selected from Highland distilleries
• The Gauldrons - featuring a blend of Campbeltown malts
• The Epicurean - representing the dapper Lowland malts

The Douglas Laing company announced the acquisition of its first distillery in October 2019. The Strathearn Distillery, founded in 2013, is located near Methven in Perthshire. Technically located in the Southern Highlands, it is near the lowlands region and about an hour and a half drive from Douglas Laing's headquarters in Glasgow. 

Stewart Laing & sons Scott and Andrew Laing form Hunter Laing

Hunter Laing was founded in 2013 by chairman Stewart Hunter Laing and his sons Andrew and Scott. Hunter Laing came to being from a dividing of assets owned by the company Douglas Laing & Co, which Stewart and his brother Fred Laing Jr. had operated together since Fred Laing Sr. – their father passed away in 1984.

The new company has more of a focus on Single Malt Whisky and often single casks than Douglas Laing, with new releases under Old Malt Cask, Old & Rare, Sovereign, The First Editions, and Hepburn's Choice hitting store shelves periodically. Regular releases as well as the mystery peated Islay Single Malt under the name Scarabus are also consistently available. Oh, and Hunter Laing also bottles rum under the wonderfully silly moniker Kill Devil.

Three years after the split, in 2016, Hunter Laing announced plans to build a distillery on Islay. The company’s Ardnahoe Distillery officially opened in 2019. The first Single Malt whisky releases from Ardnahoe hit shelves in 2024.

It is now more than a decade since Stewart and Fred Laing split the business and their progeny joined them in earnest. The brothers and their respective companies of Hunter Laing and Douglas Laing still show much of the whisky DNA that their father built into it, and them.