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Over the weekend a number of our clients attended our annual trip to Scotland. Part of the joys of luxury asset investing is the social side! At Hackstons we relish the opportunity to immerse our clients in the world of whisky and this year was no exception.
The first stop on our whirlwind tour was the picturesque Blair Athol distillery, nestled in the foothills of the ancient Grampian Mountains. As our group passed through the gorgeous ivy draped entrance building, akin to something from a watercolour painting, we were greeted by our guides who proceeded to show us around (although winter had ensured it wasn’t as green!).
Blair Athol is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland, having been founded in 1798. From there our guides took us through the history of the distillery, from its humble beginnings to its reconstruction after WW2 and beyond. In the modern era, Blair Athol is a prime contributor to Bell’s Blended Whisky, one of the most popular brands in the UK. In fact 99.2% of its total output goes into blends.
In the evening, we were free to explore the beautiful city of Edinburgh and catch up with our clients in a more relaxed setting, before settling into our accommodation at The Balmoral Hotel.
The second day was a trip to the Glenkinchie distillery, which is located just outside of Edinburgh. Glenkinchie holds the distinction of being ‘The Lowlands Home of Johnnie Walker’, being a key contributor to the biggest blended whisky brand in the world. In 2018 the parent company Diageo invested millions into constructing a new tourist centre at the distillery, and the results of this investment spoke for themselves!
The distillery started its life as an illicit still, but 1837 marks the year that the distillery was officially founded. In fact you can see a replica of the original illicit still in the visitor’s centre. But our personal highlight would have to be the accurate scale model of the distillery, which was fully capable of producing its own whisky. Although they unfortunately couldn’t run it due to actually needing a separate HMRC licence due to the model’s accuracy, and despite the fact that it is almost a century old!
The final night culminated in a fantastic dinner at The Balmoral Hotel and of course, multiple drams. We would like to thank everyone for making this event so special and look forward to our other upcoming events this year. Unfortunately due to limited spaces we cannot bring all of our clients and we operate on a first come first serve basis. If you are interested in attending one of our next events, speak to your portfolio manager and keep an eye out for any communications