Go behind the scenes of Douglas Laing & Co. with Fred and Cara Laing as they share 75 years of whisky history, blending secrets, and a few drams along the way. As third and second-generation leads of one of Scotland's most respected independent bottlers and blenders, they bring a wealth of history, humour, and heart to the table.
“Fred’s practically kicking me under the table,” complains Cara Laing, the Managing Director of Douglas Laing & Company, the family-owned independent bottlers and blenders based in Glasgow.
Cara’s the third generation of her family to work for the company founded by her grandfather Fred Douglas Laing in 1948.
You could say whisky’s in her blood.
“I live and breathe and love Scotch whisky and I cannot imagine working in anything else,” she says.
Cara and her dad Fred are sitting side beside in their Sample Room, which Fred likens to a “1930s New York speakeasy”. But Cara’s just made the mistake of admitting that some \"professional people” have dubbed Douglas Laing “entrepreneurial chancers”.
“In a good way,” she tries to placate Fred.
Established in the aftermath of the Second World War when Fred Sr, or FDL, purchased the King of Scots whisky brand and a few casks of blended whisky for a peppercorn fee, Douglas Laing has had to be “agile” and “quick to respond and react” to changing fortunes in the whisky market.
Like now.
“It’s really tough just now,” Cara admits. “There’s been a huge reset after Covid. We saw a lot of false high; essentially people at home, drinking at home, investing in whisky. It meant some of the bigger companies felt that would continue, flooded the markets around the world with Scotch whisky.
“Consumer, confidence, understandably, against the global backdrop, has taken a huge hit. So people aren’t buying whisky at the same level they were. They’ve traded down.”
“Fair to say,” says Fred, “I’ve been through a few recessions since I joined the whisky industry in 1968. And I’ve never felt one as bad as this.
“We used to have a compensating market. If the Far East was down, Europe was up, or South America was percolating nicely, particularly through markets like Brazil and Venezuela.
“There are currently no compensating markets.
“We’ve just got to strive and work; blood, sweat and tears.
“It’s not so bad if you’ve always got a back up of a glass in your hand, but it’s a tough show out there, undoubtedly.”
That’s where Douglas Laing’s entrepreneurial spirit and agility come in.
They’ve just launched a new RTD or ready to drink cocktail onto the Japanese market: Big Peat Crazy Smoky highball in a can.
“That’s something we previously wouldn’t have really played with,” Cara admits. “It’s been a real baby for Fred.”
Douglas Laing’s new RTD sits alongside the company’s traditional bottlings; its traditional cask strength, Old Particular and Xtra Old Particular single cask bottlings; its regional malts like Big Peat from Islay, Scallywag from Speyside and Timorous Beastie from the Highlands region.
Join John as he chats to Cara and Fred about:
➡️The heritage and origins of Douglas Laing & Co, from its post-WWII beginnings to global reach
➡️The art of blending and the secrets behind Douglas Laing’ iconic regional malts
➡️The future of Scotch: navigating market challenges and the rise of RTDs in Japan
➡️How to start your own whisky journey if you haven’t already
➡️And a love for Scotland
#Whisky #ScotchWhisky #DouglasLaing #CaskToGlass #BigPeat #Speyside #HighlandMalt #WhiskyPodcast #IndependentBottler
Slàinte!
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Socials: @C2GWhisky | @JohnRossBeattie
Creator & producer: David Holmes
Art work & design: Jess Robertson
Music: Water of Life (Never Going Home)
Vocals: Andrea Cunningham
Guitars: John Beattie
Bass: Alasdair Vann
Drums: Alan Hamilton
Bagpipes: Calum McColl
Accordion: Gary Innes
Music & Lyrics: Andrea Cunningham & John Beattie
Recorded & mixed by Murray Collier at La Chunky Studios, Glasgow, Scotland
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