Britain’s oldest wine and spirits merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd has announced the launch of The Collective, a release of spirits that brings together a group of ‘like-minded’ distillers.
The Collective #1: The Pioneers is centred around ‘Pioneers in Sustainability’ within the spirits industry, spotlighting ten distillers dedicated to making ‘exceptional’ spirits whilst caring for the future of the planet.
The ten distillers, and their representative bottlings, are:
- Oskar Bruno – Agitator 2018 Single Malt Swedish Whisky;
- John Stirling – Arbikie 2017 Single Grain Scotch Whisky;
- Alex Bruce – Ardnamurchan 2017 Single Malt Scotch Whisky;
- Peter Bignell – Belgrove 2016 Single Rye Tasmanian Whisky;
- Matthew Farmer – Glen Wyvis 2018 Quarter Cask Finish Single Malt Scotch Whisky;
- Jean & Amy Pasquet – Jean-Luc Pasquet 2017 Petit Champagne Cognac;
- John Letts – Oxford Artisan 2019 Single Rye English Whisky;
- Annabel Thomas – Nc’nean 2017 Single Malt Scotch Whisky;
- David & Fiona Boyd- Armstrong – Shortcross 2017 Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey;
- Matt Hoffman – Westland 2014 Madeira Finish Single Malt American Whisky.
Each has been selected by Berry Bros. & Rudd spirits reserve whisky manager, Jonny McMillan, in collaboration with Ryan Chetiyawardana, a.k.a Mr Lyan, the world’s most awarded bartender.
Mr McMillan, commented: “There is no set path on the sustainability journey, nor one single solution. The beauty of Collective #1 : The Pioneers is that each distiller has taken a different approach to sustainability, with the strength being in the diversity and combination of practices, making a whole entity, with continuous learnings.
“We looked to find a broad spectrum of producers from various traditions of whisky and cognac making with each distiller taking a slightly different approach to sustainability, some focusing on soil health and regenerative farming, others on lowering energy use or green power. For each distiller there is a different solution that fits the location and character of their distillery, together they form a great overview of what’s going on with environmentally pioneering producers.”
Berry Bros. & Rudd chair, Lizzy Rudd, added: “As a family business with a long history, the notion of sustainability is a natural part of our ethos and our long-term mindset, a key to our resilience and longevity. The purpose of business is fast becoming defined by its impact rather than the products or services it sells.
“Today, the most important decisions we face are about how to reduce our impact on the planet now, and in the future. This is why our goal is to be net zero carbon and plastic free by 2030.
“Our producers are the best in the world at what they do. Like us, they believe that protecting our planet is the only way to ensure the future of fine wine and spirits. We believe that, together with our producers, we can improve practices around the use of water, energy and plastic.”
Each whisk(e)y from The Collective #1 is priced at £125.00 and cognac at £75.00, available to purchase from 27th September 2023 from Berry Bros. & Rudd (bbr.com), Master of Malt (masterofmalt.com) and Royal Mile Whiskies (royalmilewhiskies.com).
