Scotland
📍 Hunter Laing & Co., Glasgow, Scotland
Hunter Laing is an independent bottler & blender: they typically don't distil themselves (although they now also own a distillery), but select casks from distilleries and bottle them as single casks or small batches under their own labels.
🕰️ History and Heritage
Hunter Laing & Co was founded in 2013 by Stewart Laing together with his sons Andrew and Scott. The company builds on decades of experience of the Laing family in the Scottish whisky world, with a clear focus on cask selection, maturation and bottling.
⚗️ Production and Philosophy
Single cask is core business: many releases are individual casks with clear cask and bottling information. Minimal intervention: often non-chill filtered (and frequently with an emphasis on natural presentation). Drinkability and strength: in their Old Malt Cask range, bottlings are “invariably” released at 50% (a recognisable house choice). From bottler to distiller: Hunter Laing also owns Ardnahoe Distillery on Islay (their step towards making their own whisky).
🍯 Taste Profile and Style
Hunter Laing does not have “one taste” (after all, they bottle whisky from many distilleries), but they do have a recognisable approach: classic maturation, focus on cask character and often a pure, unpolished profile (no excessive filtering) which beautifully preserves texture and aromas.
🌟 Famous Series / Bottlings
Old Malt Cask — single cask releases, usually at 50%, non-chill filtered. Old & Rare (Platinum Selection) — older, rare single casks, often at (natural) cask strength and luxuriously packaged. In addition, Hunter Laing has several labels/brands in its portfolio (e.g. The Sovereign, Hepburn’s Choice, etc.).
💎 Why this bottler is special
Hunter Laing is interesting because they combine the “independent bottler” tradition with modern dynamism: strong series with clear style choices (such as Old Malt Cask at 50%), a lot of single cask transparency, and meanwhile their own distillery (Ardnahoe) with which they are also building their own future.
