Fife business celebrates success with rare single malt whisky release on global market

Saltire Rare Malt Whisky based in Falkland released them to great success with products already available across the UK, Japan, Latin America and The Netherlands. Now brand owners, friends and serial entrepreneurs Keith Rennie and Nigel Heywood, are looking to further expand with their sights on Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, New Zealand, USA and North Asia.

Purchasing casks and maturing whisky over the past decade, the duo has more than 250 in their growing collection.

Saltire Rare Malt Whisky’s 14-year-old Aultmore, 15-year-old Tamnavulin and 17-year-old Glen Moray were the first trio released. The second trio of bottles included an original cask strength 14-year-old Dailuaine, 14-year-old Ardmore and 15-year-old Macduff. Each cask has produced up to 350 bottles which retail from £79 to £105.

All bottlings will be a minimum of 48.8% ABV or higher and will be 14 years or older. Each expression is a limited release and one of a kind. The next trio to be released in the coming weeks includes a 17-year-old Caol Ila and two Speyside bottlings, Benriach and Dailuaine, both at 14 years old.

Keith and Nigel both hail locally and said it was important that their company was linked to the historic area, which is home to Falkland Palace where Scottish kings once lived and first recognised aqua vitae – the water of life.

Keith said: “We wanted to honour the pedigree of Scotland’s liquid pride and started to quietly purchase casks of maturing whisky throughout the last decade. Now, 530 years after the official birth of Scotch in 1494, coincidentally at Falkland Palace, we thought it was the right time to release the first bottlings of Saltire Rare Malt.”

Respected whisky experts Hans and Becky Offringa, known internationally as The Whisky Couple, have been appointed as curators of the stock and will be responsible for the final liquid that is bottled.

Hans said: “We’ve never connected our name so clearly to a specific whisky company before, but we really felt that this was the time and the opportunity to do so. The stock is of excellent quality and from a wide variety of distilleries which is exciting to explore.”