ARBIKIE, the“field to bottle” distiller, is targeting sales in luxury stores at home and abroad with its new rye whisky, believed to be the of its kind to be made in Scotland in more than a century.
The release marks the first foray into whisky for the family-owned distiller, which has built its name as a spirits producer on gin and vodka since coming into being in 2013.
And the Angus-based producer declared that international demand for its Highland rye single grain Scotch whisky has been “overwhelming” ahead of the launch. The spirit will have a recommended retail price of £250 per bottle.
Only 998 bottles of the whisky will be available for sale, with the spirit bound for luxury stockists in Asia, Africa, North America and Europe – including Harrods.
Arbikie, which first disclosed its plans to make rye whisky last year, said it laid down the spirit in 2015. It has made the whisky with a combination of Arantes rye, Odyssey malted barley and Viscount wheat.
The distiller, owned by brothers Iain, David and John Stirling, said the whisky is faithful to its commitment to making spirits from ingredients exclusively cultivated on the Highland estate the family have farmed for four generations.
All ingredients can be traced back to the field they were grown in.
Iain Stirling said: “The rising demand internationally for our field to bottle products has been on-going. Our Highland Rye has caught the imagination of our export partners across the globe due to our provenance as we both grow and distil.
“As a young business we’re delighted to be a catalyst for a new whisky category, Scottish rye whisky, with much older distillers like Bruichladdich, Diageo and new ones like Inchdairnie and Lone Wolf we believe, preparing to follow. Whatever we’ve produced over the years, from potatoes to vodka, our values of sustainability, innovation and quality have been the foundation, and our Highland Rye Whisky embodies everything our family has been doing since we started farming 400 years ago.”
The latest Arbikie launch comes after the distiller raised funds for charity a year ago with the sale of an experimental pot distilled rye offering.
Arbikie said it is focusing on growing its exports through innovation and luxury products in spite of the ongoing uncertainty around the UK’s future trading relationships because of Brexit.
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