My daughter has been asking why my wife and I have been working so hard over the last few months. I’ve explained that nothing in life comes easy but if you love what you do, then creating something yourself, although hard, will be the most rewarding experience.
Goldfinch Whisky is the culmination of my love for whisky and my experience of working with luxury brands to develop products and launch them to the world. I recently worked with the Edrington Group, who are the owners of Highland Park and The Macallan. This organisation is incredibly special and is founded on values of giving, integrity, excellence and respect. It is the country’s largest independent grant-making trust and motived me to look at developing amazing whisky products while giving something back.
My wife, Ros has worked with fine wine for nearly 20 years, from buyer to product creator for a global audience. We have very much worked hand in hand to source, design and launch our first single cask release, all in a record time of eleven weeks. Goldfinch Whisky represents the desire to offer the best to our customers, to respect the people we work with, to innovate when it’s right and to give back when we can.
That is why it’s so fitting that our first charity partner, Mey Selections asked us to create a range of whisky that represents the diversity of the Highlands of Scotland. This is how the Mey Selections Rare Cask Release was born and we worked with the legendary whisky Maker and Keeper of the Quiach, Max MacFarlane to ensure we bottled only the finest liquid.
Mey Selection’s only stipulation was for the whisky to be sourced from within 150 miles of <a href=”https://www.castleofmey.org.uk/”>The Castle of Mey</a>. This was Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother’s private residence and is now loved by His Royal Highness The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay. Mey Selections offers a range of products and through their sales, promotes this magnificent place and importantly donates money to a charity that supports this fragile economy and community.
Why a Goldfinch? We have many that visit our garden and they are beautiful birds. They also have a strong relationship with Scotland’s national flower, the thistle. In the summer, they strip the soft down to line their nests. In the winter, they fly south to Spain, close to the sherry bodegas that are so important to the whisky industry, What a great symbol for us to have of a bird that has such tenacity, beauty and strength.
Our story has just begun, but what heartens me is that our children can see what it takes to build something from nothing, but more importantly, that you can do it in the right way.
