James Eadie Whisky
Hammersmith,
London
History - Whisky was not where this family started its historic relationship with drinks. He was born near Gleneagles in Scotland, and as one of fourteen children he learned early he had to shout louder than anyone else in the room. From the very beginning James Eadie was a self made man who built up a substantial business in the 1880’s a time when whisky was in its golden age. As well as the beer James found himself moving into the whisky business creating his own recipe for a Blended Scotch whisky. This recipe, inherited from his father, gained a loyal following and at the time was described as "an ancient Scotch mixture that was dispensed to a favoured few". In fact, the whisky was dispensed quite widely, being available in over 300 of the James Eadie pubs.
The company sadly ceased trading in the 1960’s during a downturn in Scotch sales but almost 60 years on the brand was resurrected by the great-great-grandson of James Eadie, Rupert Patrick. Rupert was already a experienced in the world of whisky having worked for Macleod Distillers for fourteen years before moving to Beam Suntory (Laphroaig, Teacher's, Jim Beam, Maker's Mark) and then to Diageo where he was Commercial Director for Africa, managing Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky and Guinness. Rupert is also a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Distillers and a Keeper of the Quaich, one of the highest accolades you can gain in the whisky industry.
The Spirit - James Eadie doesn’t have a distillery, they are known in the industry as an independent bottler, meaning they choose the best casks of whisky from distilleries to bottle their own brand. The new James Eadie range of independent bottling’s was launched in 2016 and has built up a stellar reputation for quality bottling of some of Scotland’s best distilleries. James Eadie sources and distributes the finest Scotch whisky. We specialise in Small Batch, Single Cask and Cask Finish bottlings, un-chillfiltered at natural colour. Some of my favourites that I have tried from them include the Benriach 9 year old single malt which has been finished 7 months in first fill European Oak Pedro Ximénez Sherry Hogshead and the Dailuaine 11 year old single malt which has been finished for 6 months in first fill European Oak Pedro Ximénez Sherry Hogshead. You can purchase all of James Eadie bottling from Royal Mile Whiskies.
Interesting fact - In May of 1877, James Eadie took advantage of the new Trade Mark Registration Act to register a simple, yet bold, logo that can be seen on every bottle of the current brand.
Under this icon, his most traditional of Scotch whiskies became one of the world’s first trademarks: James Eadie’s Trade Mark ‘X’.
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