EDRINGTON SELLS CUTTY SARK

Scottish drinks company Edrington has sold its Cutty Sark blended Scotch whisky brand to French spirits group La Martiniquaise. Edrington, which owns Scotch brands including The Macallan, Highland Park, The Glenrothes and The Famous Grouse, first announced that it was putting Cutty Sark up for sale earlier this year. The drinks group said that it was offering its Cutty Sark and Glenturret brands for sale, alongside the Glenturret distillery in Crieff (Scotland’s oldest single malt distillery) in order to prioritize investment in its core brands. The Cutty Sark brand was first launched in 1923 by Berry Brothers and Rudd, and was sold to Edrington in 2O1O. The spirit is blended and bottled at Edrington’s Great Western Road site and accounts for roughly 1O% of volume output from the facility. Edrington will continue to provide blending and bottling and other services during the transition period. La Martiniquaise’s portfolio includes Label 5, Sir Edward’s, Glen Moray Scotch Whisky, Poliakov Vodka, Porto Cruz, Negrita and Saint James Rum. The purchase amount was not disclosed.