Finnieston Distillery Co rolls out Scotch whisky RTDs

Glasgow-based drinks firm The Finnieston Distillery Company has unveiled a range of canned cocktails made with its own blended Scotch whisky – created in partnership with Douglas Laing & Co.

The company, which was formerly known as Dram20, launched a successful pilot run of two of its ready-to-drink cocktails in 2016, which sold out across Aldi’s Scottish stores. The full range comprises the Finnieston Fling, made with Scotch whisky, natural ginger ale, lemon, lime and mint; the Old Fashioned Green Tea, a blend of Scotch whisky and natural green tea; Scotch On The Beach, comprising Scotch whisky, natural ginger beer, vanilla and strawberry; and the Shanghai Sour, containing Scotch whisky, natural lemon and sweet Lapsang honey. Created "in line with Scotch whisky’s international reputation and provenance", the drinks are designed to appeal to people "who might not see themselves as traditional whisky drinkers". Founder and CEO James Doig said: "The customer response to last year’s pilot demonstrated there was a real demand for our cocktails. It also reinforced the research we’d conducted which showed there was a broad target market, both male and female, for products which combined familiar cocktail names with the versatility of Scotland’s national drink. "Since we formed the business, our aim has been to take an innovative approach to Scotch whisky by creating high quality, convenient, ready-to-drink cocktails with a strong identity. Obviously, there are certain traditions around Scotch whisky drinking – we take the view that people should drink it how they want, not how they’re told to. We believe we’ve produced a range which combines the best elements of traditional and contemporary flavours. Finnieston Distillery Company plans to launch the full range across the UK in June, and is currently in negotiations with a number of supermarket retailers and on-trade outlets. Doig continued: "We’re really pleased to have completed our initial production run and discussions are progressing well with leading supermarkets and with the on-trade. "Finnieston has an historic association with Scotch whisky distilling and we’ve taken inspiration from Ebenezer Connal, a 19th century merchant who converted one of his family businesses into a distillery in Finnieston Street and created a Scotch whisky infused with exotic herbs and spices and a taste of heather which really made it stand out from others at that time. "We thought that approach chimed perfectly with the vision we had for our products so, to some extent, we’re taking up where Ebenezer Connal & Co’s Distillery left off."