Last week, a large group of our malting barley suppliers visited The Macallan Estate in Speyside as part of The Macallan Growers Gathering event.
The suppliers involved – based from the Highlands of Scotland down into northern England – are all part of our Macallan Growers Group, where their barley is directly contracted through our agricultural merchanting division McCreath Simpson & Prentice, before being stored separately within our large in-house grain storage infrastructure post-harvest and then malted at our Tweed Valley Maltings.
The day started with a welcome from Operations Director at The Macallan, Rachel Walters, before Distillation and Technical Excellence Manager Jess Haworth and our Commercial Director, Andy Hindhaugh, gave a brief overview of the long-term relationship between both businesses and the intricate process involved in crafting the renowned Macallan whisky.
In the afternoon, the growers were split into groups and taken on different tours around The Macallan Estate. Highlights included a tour of the impressive Jewel Wall, which contains 429 bottles of whisky from over the years, as well as a look inside the production site and an estate insight.
The day was rounded off with three presentations from our Sustainability Manager Ben Gothorp, Head of Carbon Reduction at Edrington, Graham MacWilliam, and The Macallan Estate Manager Chas Jamieson. The presentations were sustainability focused, outlining each company’s sustainability roadmap and the investments both are making to reduce the carbon footprint of the malting barley supply chain. Chas then offered an insight into the sustainability measures currently being implemented on The Macallan Estate.
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Testimonials
Feedback from the day has been positive, with all parties finding the day to be very informative and useful in learning more about each other’s processes, commitments, and challenges.
The visit was first class, and it was great to hear of the positive work and investment by both Macallan and Simpsons Malt. – Robert Drysdale, Corsindae & Fetternear Farms.
It was very good to meet others from the Growers Group and see how the barley is turned into such a good brand. – Marjory and Jane Ashworth, Gordon Stewart & Partners.
It was an excellent and well organised visit, where we met a lot of people from across a large area of Scotland and North England, sharing our experiences of growing crops. – Ivan and Ewan Laird, IA & ER Laird.
Get in touch
If you want to find out more about our Growers Group concept call us on 01289 330022.
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