of La Maison du Whisky began in 1956, when Georges Bénitah decided to turn his passion into a profession: selling whisky and fine spirits. In the period after WWII, when most distilleries had ceased to operate, the whisky market was limited. The range of products available was dominated by Canadian, American and Irish whiskeys, and above all blended scotch. This period saw the arrival on the international scene of leading brands such as Johnnie Walker, Black & White, Dewars and White Horse, followed a few years later by Chivas — all of which were considered luxury goods. Single malts were yet to reach the French market.

Arran is the first new distillery of the modern era. Until then, no new distilleries had been built in Scotland since Tamnavulin in 1966. Barely a month later, Georges Bénitah and his son Thierry visited Arran to meet the founders Harold Currie and his son Andrew. Incidentally, it was during this visit to the Arran visitor centre that La Maison du Whisky selected a Ledaig 1974 Dark Oloroso (which the Currie family owned a cask of), which would go on to become a cult classic.

The relationship between the young distillery and La Maison du Whisky is unique and still going strong 26 years later. With the talented Euan Mitchell at its helm since 2003, Isle of Arran has become a leading brand in France, available in over 1,500 independent spirits retailers. We are delighted to be celebrating this long partnership with three cask strength bottlings that pay tribute to the last three decades. Each expression has its own style: a 25 year old single bourbon cask for the 1990s, an 11 year old sherry cask for the 2000s and an 8 year old peated whisky for the 2010s. The latter also makes reference to Arran’s future, as its sister distillery Lagg, which is located in the south of the isle, has produced a fully peated single malt since 2019.

La Maison du Whisky released a spring water from Islay dubbed Islay Water. Anthony Wills, the man behind this unique brand, is nothing short of a visionary. In 2005, he embarked on an even wilder project: the production of a new whisky on Islay. No new distilleries had opened on the island for over a century and it had long been assumed that the giants of peated whisky — Ardbeg, Bowmore, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Caol Ila, Bunnahabhain, and Bruichladdich — would remain the keepers of the isle’s reputation for the rest of time. Although Bruichladdich’s reopening in 2001 had made quite a stir, it was not a new distillery in its own right. Kilchoman’s construction marked a new chapter in Islay’s history and in the world of farm distilleries and craft drinks in general. Controlling the entire production = process from start to fi nish and taking extreme care over the sourcing of its barley and peat, Kilchoman’s whiskies could not be more authentic. And its example has since been followed by numerous distillers across the world in response to enthusiasts’ increasing interest in transparency. La Maison du Whisky, who has supported the distillery since its foundation in 2005, has decided to celebrate the journey of this famous family-run business — directed by Anthony, his wife Kathy and his three sons — by selecting four whiskies that represent the last two decades: one bourbon barrel and one sherry cask from the 2000s produced with barley from the Port Ellen maltings, and a second duo from the 2010s produced exclusively from barley grown locally on Islay.

when La Maison du Whisky became the distributor for Gordon & MacPhail, its portfolio grew suddenly from 150 products to over 300! The huge number of whiskies available from the Scottish bottler included a plethora of Speyside single malts, including Glenlivet, Glen Grant, Linkwood, Longmorn, Mortlach and Strathisla, as well as malts from other regions, such as Balblair and Pulteney in the Highlands, and Scapa in the Orkney Islands. Most of these single malts were released in multiple expressions, notably the limited series aged for over 30 years and the vintages from the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. These distilleries were designed to produce whisky for blends and it was rare for them to release official versions.

Connoisseurs Choice is one of Gordon & MacPhail’s signature ranges, featuring bottlings from every region of Scotland.

The range’s identity has changed over the years. The first labels were red and black (black label), in the 1980s, they were embellished with shades of brown (brown label) and in 1996, they became creamcoloured and included a map of the region where the whisky was distilled (cream label).

the Paris version of Whisky Live has continued to grow, attracting more exhibitors from around the world and visitors with a passion for malt, rum, and all types of spirits and mixology each year. (Skip paragraph) Today, Whisky Live Paris is undoubtedly the largest event dedicated to whisky and spirits tasting in Europe.

another historic bottler, was founded in 1948 by Fred Douglas Laing. After his death in 1982, his sons Fred and Stewart took over at the head of the company. The business initially specialized in blends, notably The King of Scots, as well as gifts. In fact, up until the late 1980s, whisky was mainly bought to be given as a present. During this period, Douglas Laing came up with lots of original gift formats, from ceramic decanters to bottles in the shape of golf caddies. As blenders, the Laing family had always access to a wide range of whiskies and still owns some very old casks, but it would not be until 1990 that it would step into the arena of single malts.

In 2021, Belgium’s leading independent bottler The Nectar turned 15. The company, which is directed by the well-known specialists Jan Broekmans and his right-hand man Mario Groteklaes, shares the same philosophy as La Maison du Whisky, who has supported them since the start. The cask of Jura 29 year old selected for this catalogue is a celebration of this partnership and the respective anniversaries of our two companies.