Whisky Focus - James Eadie - A New Independent Bottler

Introducing a newly launched independent whisky range launched under the 150 year old James Eadie label.

Rupert Patrick, Co-founder & Chief Executive of Whisky Invest Direct Limited has announced that he is resurrecting the 150 year old whisky brand James Eadie which was established by his great-great grandfather.

James Eadie (1827-1904) was a Scottish brewer who established a significant brewery in 1854. Born near Gleneagles in Scotland, he was one of 14 children and left school at 14 to work for his living. Aside from beer, the Eadie family had its own recipe for a blended Scotch Whisky. Only a few bottles of the original James Eadie whisky remain, likely all of them in family hands. The Scotch Whisky and British beer writer of the day, Alfred Barnard, visited the Eadie brewery and wrote up his findings in his book, ‘Noted breweries of Great Britain and Ireland,’ (Volume 2, 1889). Barnard reveals how James Eadie had inherited from his father, a recipe for a Scotch Whisky Blend which he describes as ‘an ancient Scotch mixture that was dispensed to a favoured few’. In fact, the whisky was dispensed quite widely, being available in over 300 of the James Eadie pubs.

Rupert is bringing the brand back to life with the launch of a selection of single cask bottlings and small batch bottlings which are a blend of two or three casks all under the resurrected "James Eadie" independent whisky bottler label. The first batch of bottlings from the newly resurrected brand include single malts from Speyside, the Highlands and Islay, with whiskies from Inchgower, Benrinnes, Blair Athol, Caol Ila, Dailuaine and Linkwood.

Rupert Patrick explained why he has brought the James Eadie brand back to life now, saying: "I’ve known about my great-great grandfather’s whisky for many years, indeed I have a bottle in my collection, but until now I’ve never had the chance to realise my ambition to get the brand going again. I’ve had 25 very enjoyable years working in Scotch Whisky and now it’s fantastic to be selecting outstanding quality single malts to bottle under the James Eadie brand."

"Demand for good quality single malts is growing by 6% per year worldwide and consumers are prepared to look beyond the well marketed brands to find something new. Some of the distilleries we’ve chosen casks from are hidden gems. I’m forever learning about the breadth and depth of quality in Scotch Whisky.

"We are lucky to have access to some exceptional stocks of malt and grain, giving us scope to bottle fantastic single malts, and the potential to add blended malts and blended whisky. Our attention to detail, and to quality, is second to none."

I haven't tasted any of the new James Eadie single malts so I cannot vouch for the quality of the new single malts bottled under the newly resurrected James Eadie label but you will find the whiskies available to buy from its exclusive partner in the UK, Royal Mile Whiskies with prices ranging from £36.95 to £55. James Eadie whisky will also be available in Denmark, Holland, Austria and France.
 

• UK Shops
   
• USA Shops
   
• European Shops

Whisky Focus