Justerini & Brooks takes back J&B Rare distribution

UK fine wine merchant Justerini & Brooks has announced it is to take back the UK distribution of its J&B ‘Rare’ Scotch whisky after a 21-year gap.

Promoted as the merchant’s whisky following its creation in the early 1930s (Justerini & Brooks had worked with whisky since the 1880s), by 1997 J&B Rare was the second biggest selling whisky in the world with sales equivalent to six million cases a year – helped along by its popularity among influential drinkers such as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Dean Martin (‘The Rat Pack’).

It was in 1997 that Justerini & Brooks, part of International Distillers & Vintners since 1962, became part of Diageo through the United Distillers & Vintners subsidiary. The whisky has been distributed by Diageo ever since.

Distribution of the whisky in the UK through Justerini & Brooks begins with immediate effect today (1 May), with the old house label rejoining the other wines and spirits in the merchant’s portfolio.

Its ‘heart malts’ remain: Knockando, Auchroisk, Strathmill and Glen Spey remain unchanged.

Chadwick Delaney, managing director of Justerini & Brooks, said: “J&B Rare sits at the heart of Justerini & Brooks. A whisky we created in the 1930s and then built up over the ensuing decades is returning home after a 21-year gap. We are all excited to be bringing this iconic brand to a new generation of customers who can experience a piece of our history.”