The GlenAllachie Distillers Company, the Speyside venture launched by a consortium led by whisky industry veteran Billy Walker, has made a raft of senior appointments to its sales team, taking the business’s headcount to 14 and unveiled its first export orders.
The firm, which last year bought the GlenAllachie distillery near Aberlour from Pernod Ricard, has also signed deals with distributors covering twelve countries, including the key Chinese, Netherlands, Taiwanese and French markets.
The first distributor to stock GlenAllachie will be Belgium-based Premium Spirits, which was also the first company to sell the whiskies produced by BenRiach, Walker’s previous business which was founded in 2004.
GlenAllachie’s core range of aged whiskies, ranging from a 10 year old to 25 year old, will be launched in June this year.
News of the maiden overseas orders came as the company named the line-up for its sales team.
David Keir has been appointed as GlenAllachie’s Sales and Marketing Director, bringing with him more than 20 years’ experience working across a variety of retail and marketing roles.
Keir will be joined in his new role by Colette Savage who becomes GlenAllachie’s Marketing Manager; Ally Stevenson, joins as Sales Manager along with Administration Manager Lorraine Walker.
They are joined by production and warehouse operatives Michael Duncan, Phillip Murray, Lindsay Cormie, Stuart Geddes and William Kewley.
The appointments come hot-on-the-heels of GlenAllachie selecting Richard Beattie as its Operations Director. Beattie was previously Director of Distilling at Mossburn Distillers, the parent company of Torabhaig Distillery on Skye.
As well as investing in its staff, the company has also built a filling store and two dunnage warehouses at the distillery bringing total storage on site to sixteen warehouses and over 100,000 casks.
David Keir, Sales and Marketing Director at GlenAllachie Distillers Company, said: “We have assembled a top team, and continue to invest in the distillery, to help launch The GlenAllachie brand and position it as a premium quality Scotch whisky. In his role as Sales Manager, Ally Stevenson will have a specific focus on developing the key European markets such as Germany and France along with the likes of Russia and Ukraine. Colette Savage will be instrumental in developing our branding and sales tools to help us grow as a global whisky brand.
“The GlenAllachie has always been a bit of a hidden gem as the previous owners focused on their other distilleries. It is a hugely exciting opportunity for us all to be involved in a truly independent, Scottish-owned and managed business and to build the brand from scratch.
“These first orders from twelve countries prove that there’s demand out there for the high-quality single malt that has been produced at the distillery over the years. Along with these confirmed deals we’ve had strong expressions of interest from around the world including Asia, and will be attending Vinexpo Hong Kong with a view to finalising these. In fact, we’re hopeful to have confirmed distribution in over 30 countries, including the USA, by the time we launch in June.
“As well as selling the existing stock of single malt that was bought along with the distillery, we’ll also be involved in developing the blended Scotch brands MacNair’s and White Heather.”
Walker’s consortium also consists of long-term business partner and former General Manager at BenRiach Trisha Savage and Graham Stevenson, a former Managing Director at Inver House Distillers.
