The Whisky Barrel

The Whisky Barrel is a Scottish based, retail outlet and independent bottler of Scotch whisky and other distilled alcoholic beverages. The company was established in Edinburgh in 2007.

History

The Whisky Barrel first started trading in 2008, operating exclusively as an e-commerce vendor specializing in alcoholic beverages from Scotland, Japan, England, Sweden and India. On 3 August 2011 the company released its first independent bottling of single malt Scotch whisky to coincide with an upgrade to the firms e-business platform.

The Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009, intended to provide Scotch Whisky producers and retailers protection from foreign imitations, came into force on 23 November 2009 and apply to all home nations of the United Kingdom. The regulations apply to production, labelling, advertising and packaging of Scotch whisky. As a direct result The Whisky Barrel company cannot transfer or bottle oak casks of maturing Scotch whisky outside of Scotland from 22 November 2012; all single malt Scotch Whisky can only leave the country for retail purposes if it is contained within a bottle clearly stating its contents and source.

Historical bottlings

The Whisky Barrel shop has retailed a variety of Scotch whisky bottlings which have been exclusive to the company.

• Caol Ila 27 Year Old 1984 vintage bottled 2011 by Glasgow based independent bottlers of Scotch Whisky Douglas Laing & Co.
• Macduff 11 Year Old 2000 vintage bottled 2011 by London based wine & spirits merchant Berry Brothers and Rudd.
• Bunnahabhain 21 Year Old Burns Malt 1990 vintage bottled 2012 to commemorate 253rd birthday of the poet Robert Burns.
• Abhainn Dearg Spirit of Lewis Cask Strength bottled 2012 by the distillery.
• Abhainn Dearg 3 Year Old Cask Strength bottled 2012 by the Uig, Lewis distillery.
• Bunnahabhain 21 Year Old Jubilee Malt 1990 vintage bottled February 2012 to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee (1952-2012).
• Bunnahabhain 21 Year Old Jubilee Malt II Extra Regal 1990 vintage bottled March 2012 to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee (1952-2012).
• Littlemill (whisky distillery) 21 Year Old Burns Malt 1990 vintage bottled July 2012.

Awards and accolades

The Whisky Barrel has gained a number of awards from the drinks and e-commerce industries including ISIS (Internet Shopping is Safe) accredited retailer and Whisky Magazine's ICONS of Whisky Scotland nominations.

Scotch Whisky and the Economy

A study by the Scotch Whisky Association in July 2011 calculated that whisky tourism brings £30 million per annum to the UK economy. In addition, it was revealed that exports of Scotch Whisky reached £1.8 billion between January and June 2011.