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Meet the maker: Dave Worthington
Originally an engineer, the Global Brand Ambassador for independent bottler That Boutique-y Whisky Company talks to Douglas Blyde about art, Ardbeg and the Return to Oz…
What exactly is “That Boutique-y Whisky Company”?
An award-winning blender and independent bottler of delicious whiskies. Like most independent bottlers, we are not distillers but curators of select casks from across Scotland. But unlike most independent bottlers, our partners go beyond Scotland and we seek out whiskies and other spirits from across the world. We have spent the past decade bringing the best the world has to offer to fine spirits drinkers around the world and our latest endeavour, Return to Oz, is a continuation of that mission.
Who owns it?
The company is the brainchild of one of our founders, Ben Ellefsen, and is part of ATOM Group, ultimately owned by ATOM Supplies Limited in Kent.
What makes That Boutique-y Whisky Company different?
We at passionate spirit geeks driven by finding whiskies which give us that “you’ve GOT to try this” feeling. We certainly take risks and launched World Whisky Blend(s), introducing not just one or two New World whiskies in a release, but an entire collection of whiskies from a single country. We also launched a collection of whiskies illustrating a specific style of whisky; we brought a collection of nine rye whiskies from across the globe as our second themed collection. We do this because we want to encourage whisky enthusiasts to discover new things, and be as excited as we are about them. I love hosting blind whisky tastings. I’m not there to catch anyone out – no competition, nor prizes, for guessing what I’ve poured. It’s about removing preconceptions and simply tasting what’s in the glass, before forming an opinion. People are blown away when they learn that they have been tasting a delicious whisky, that’s only a few years old, and comes from a country that they had no idea made whisky! Eyes opened. Job done! I think the Boutique-y consumer is a whisky enthusiast like any other, but who is at odds with the dominant, and outdated, tropes of whisky product design and marketing. What attracts people to Boutique-y is that we take our whisky seriously (inside the bottle), but we do not take ourselves seriously (outside the bottle).
When and what was the first release?
That Boutique-y Whisky Company entered the Independent Bottler market on 12th September 2012 with two single malts, from arguably the most collectable Scottish distilleries, Ardbeg and Macallan, and two single malts from long-closed Scottish distilleries: Caperdonich (closed in 2002) and Port Ellen (1983).
What has been the most expensive release to date?
A 19 Year Old Single Malt from Japanese distillery, Karuizawa which closed in 2001. It wasn’t until 2007-8 that the distillery started gaining international popularity, by then, with an ever-dwindling stock of mature whisky. For a few years there was hope of the distillery being revived, but in 2016 the distillery was razed to the ground.
And what does the most recent collection, Return to Oz, encapsulate?
Australia has a rich distilling history. Did you know that they were once the fourth largest whisky-producing nation in the world back in the 1920s? Australia’s Whisky Industry reached its peak in the 1950s enjoying a 70% share of the total whisky category. However, by the early 80s the Australian whisky industry had shrivelled. Moving into the current century, the recent growth of distilleries in Australia is phenomenal! The revival of Australian whisky started in 1992 with Bill Lark and his Lark Distillery in Hobart, Tasmania. We have long been believers in Australian whisky and released our first collection of Australian whisky in April 2020. It was a huge success, and we immediately had distilleries from down under asking us to consider them if we were thinking about running a second series. For many of these distilleries, it would be the first time their spirit would be available on a global scale. They, and we, took that honour and occasion very seriously.
Who designed the labels for these and do they feature hidden meanings waiting to be discovered?
The labels are brought to life by the very talented Glasgow-based artist, Emily Chappell. Our whisky team sends a design brief to Emily ranging from detailed to quite “sketchy” (pun intended!) and we receive a hand-drawn illustration back. Emily has been with us from the start and is very much “in our heads” now so there really aren’t too many iterations of each label design. Once agreed, Emily brings the label to life with colour. We have over 200 labels, and each one tells a story. For our Return To Oz collection, we feature a “deadly animal” on each of the labels. Australia seems to have the majority of the most dangerous animals, insects, and reptiles in the world, so we’ve assigned each label with a deadly animal which can be found around the area where each distillery is located.
How did you come to be That Boutique-y Whisky Company’s Global Brand Ambassador?
Right place, right time. I had been attending whisky shows up and down the country and had been helping out a stand whenever somebody needed a hand, whether it was for a full show, or just a couple of hours while the stand holder went to host a masterclass. It was coming up to Whisky Live London 2016, and I called a few companies asking if they needed a hand. Maverick Drinks responded with a “yes please” and so I was looking after That Boutique-y Whisky for the weekend. A few days later, they called me up and asked if I would be able to work a whisky festival, on my own, in Bristol. After a successful weekend in Bristol, where they saw I shared their passion for whisky I was given a long list of commitments for that year, whisky festivals up and down the country, and asked which ones I couldn’t do. I told them that I could commit to them all, and was “signed up”. Towards the end of that year, I was asked if I would be interested in taking on the Brand Ambassador role full-time. An offer I really couldn’t refuse!
How does your engineering background inform your day-to-day career?
My roles in the engineering world, certainly towards the last years of my engineering career, consisted of a lot of “technical sales” so I spent a fair bit of my time travelling and meeting customers. I’ve worked at trade shows around the world, so I am used to talking to people about subjects I knew a great deal about. Not much call for stress, shear and torsion calculations these days though! I’m a dab hand with spreadsheets, and they always come in handy for life in general!
What is your motto?
“If in doubt, create a spreadsheet!”
Do you collect expressions of That Boutique-y Whisky Company yourself?
Not as such. Most of the bottles I have are open. If they’re not open now, they will be when there is room in the cabinet. The only whisky I’ve “collected” are expressions from the birth years of my children, and any Boutique-y Whisky labels with me on them of course. That’s their collection to do whatever they want to do with.
Finally, would you ever shave your beard?
When the kids were younger I used to shave my beard off every Christmas morning. Seeing how long it took for anyone to notice it had gone was fun. I don’t think my youngest would be very happy if I did shave it off now though – she’s never really known me without a beard…