THE INSPIRING IDEAS WORTH EXPLORING

Leonardo da Vinci’s brushstrokes on the 15^th century masterpiece Tobias & the Angel. The allure and mystery of a one-night-only travelling Circus. A flavour so distinctively peaty that No Name could ever do it justice.

Sometimes the inspiration for our whiskies comes from the most unlikely of places. As our founder John Glaser explains in our latest Yearbook, it’s a creative process all about discovery…

CREATIVITY CAN SPARK FROM ANYWHERE

“Everything starts with the idea,” says John. “These are the nuggets of gold, and you must always be open to them, and be ready when they show themselves. Ideas can come from anywhere – there’s no formula. We’ve been inspired by wine, beer, a song title, a picture. By sunshine.”

LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY

John says music composition regularly inspires new ideas and approaches:

“BBC Radio 3 is great for this, especially The Listening Service with Tom Service. He breaks apart songs and sound in ways that are easy for the layperson to understand, as well as inspiring for those of us in creative endeavours. Try his episode: ‘How to Compose Music’. Every time he says ‘composer’, replace it with ‘blender’ or ‘whiskymaker’ and you’ll be inspired for days!”

THE BIG QUESTION: “WHAT IF?”

“It’s one of my favourite things to say,” explains John. “What if we crossed this with that? We usually start with one ingredient and try to add extra dimension to it. How could we bring sweetness to something that isn’t naturally so? How do we tease out the deliciousness? What if we added a bit of this? A little of that?”

‘What if?’ can lead to as many as 40 different iterations for a new creation, fine-tuned over months or even years.

PLEASE DRINK CREATIVELY

Our ideas start the process, but where it goes next is up to you. As John says: “Blending is creativity. It’s how we make something that’s distinctly ours. Until we release it of course. Then it’s not ours. It’s yours.”