Watt Whisky Release First Bottlings

Husband and wife team Kate and Mark Watt, founders of The Campbeltown Whisky Company Ltd, are delighted to be releasing their first bottlings under their new Watt Whisky independent bottling brand.

Kate and Mark between them have 40 years experience in the whisky industry and are using all their knowledge and industry contacts to deliver what they describe as ‘good, honest whisky, priced for drinking rather than collecting.’ Their philosophy is very much ‘It’s All About the Taste’, which is reflected in the stylised tastebud logo they have chosen for the brand.

The Watts’ first release comprises a Sherry Cask 19yo Blended Malt, a 10yo Highland Single Malt from an undisclosed distillery, a Mannochmore 12yo from a single brandy butt and a classic 11yo Caol Ila. The 4 whiskies are all bottled as they believe good spirits should be – in their natural state with no chill filtration and no added colour – and all the whiskies are at cask strength.

Speaking about the product launch, Kate said, “We’re delighted to be able to launch with 5 great casks, which wouldn’t have been possible without the phenomenal support of our Crowdfunder supporters and friends in the industry. Starting a new business while expecting a new baby and trying to get it off the ground during Covid times (not to mention impending Brexit) isn’t exactly ideal timing but we are cautiously optimistic about the future and already looking forward to our next release.”

Instead of going down the classic route of regional profiles, Watt Whisky is taking a slightly more unconventional route. Mark has a mild form of synaesthesia which means that he smells in colour so the colour of the label is the colour he smells when he noses the whisky. Whether this results in different coloured labels having different flavour profiles or whether the colours are completely random remains to be seen!

Discussing distribution of the new brand, Mark explained, “With Watt Whisky, rather than trying to take over the world and potentially spreading ourselves and our whiskies too thinly we decided to work with only a few key partners. These are people I’ve worked with for many years and know that the working relationship with them will help to cement our brands in these markets for many years to come.

We’re planning 3 or 4 releases a year, which will allow us to focus on the quality of the whisky and minimise repetition in bottlings – choice and variety is something that we feel our customers will demand and that’s what we we plan to offer”

Watt Whisky will soon be available in the UK, Belgium, Denmark, Japan and Taiwan. Estimated UK retail prices of the first release are between £60 – £90.

Notes 

Watt Whisky and Watt Rum are brand name of the Campbeltown Whisky Company Ltd, established in 2019 by the two directors, Kate and Mark Watt.

The Crowdfunder Campaign saw their entire first cask of whisky, to be bottled exclusively for supporters, sold in under 3 days.

Connect with Watt Whisky on Facebook and Instagram at @wattwhisky using hashtags #wattwhisky #wattwhiskyfriends #wattwhiskywhere Mark started working in the whisky industry aged 18 in the famous Quaich Bar of The Craigellachie Hotel then went on to work at Royal Mile Whiskies and the Scotch Malt Whisky Society while a student in Edinburgh. After graduation he worked at Duncan Taylor Ltd then William Cadenhead Ltd where he was responsible for cask selection and product development.

Kate worked at Springbank then Glenfarclas distilleries in a sales and marketing capacity, travelling the world doing tastings, festivals and sales visits.

National distributors are The Whisky Exchange in the UK, The Nectar in Belgium, Lago in Denmark, Whisk-e in Japan and Smartworld in Taiwan.

In Campbeltown, Watt Whisky will be available from Halls of Campbeltown and by the dram from the Ardshiel Hotel. Other local and regional stockists will be listed on the Watt Whisky website.

Kate is originally from Campbeltown. Mark is from Speyside. They met in Japan while attending Whisky Live Tokyo for their respective companies.