Whyte and Mackay
Encyclopedia
Whyte and Mackay Ltd is a Scottish
company producing alcoholic beverage
s. It was founded in 1844 and is based in Glasgow
. Since May 2007, Whyte and Mackay has been owned by United Breweries Group, a large India
n conglomerate
.
Charles Mackay and James Whyte started a company as whisky merchants and bonded warehousemen in Glasgow in 1882. W&M Special was their first blended whisky and it was successful in the United Kingdom
and other English speaking countries around the world. After World War II
they focused on the home market and now sell more than 1 million cases a year.
The company sells Single Malt and Blended
Scotch
Whiskies, Liqueur
s, and Vodka
s. Their brands include the W&M 13/19/22/30/40yr old blends[]; Dalmore, Isle of Jura, and Fettercairn
Single Malts; Glayva
liqueur
; and Vladivar Vodka
.
Whyte and Mackay were sponsors of the English
football team Leeds United
from 2003 to 2006, but their backing did little to save the club from a financial crisis which cost them their place in the Premier League. The brand currently sponsors Edinburgh
club Hibernian
in the Scottish Premier League
, the Royal Challengers Bangalore
in the IPL
, the PDC Premier League Darts
and the Force India
Formula One
racing team (also owned by Dr Vijay Mallya
).
Boxes of Whyte and Mackay can be seen in the 1931 film The Public Enemy
.
In 2009, the company expanded into Social Media
setting up Twitter
accounts for Whyte and Mackay whisky and Jura Superstition. It also launched an ARG/online and offline game consisting of Twitter and GPS updates called the Whyte and Mackay Safari Hunt.http://www.allmediascotland.com/media_releases/4432/industry_first_as_whyte_and_mackay_uses_twitter_and_google_latitude_to_launch_the_whyte_and_mackay_safari_hunt
March 2009 saw John Beard, former chief executive of Bacardi Brown Forman, replace Ashwin Malik as chief executive of Whyte and Mackay.
In October 2009, Whyte and Mackay Master Blender Richard Paterson announced on his blog site that the 30 year old Whyte and Mackay whisky had been voted the best blended whisky in the world in two different prestigious whisky competitions.
In August 2010, it was reported that Whyte and Mackay will be attempting to replicate a supply of whisky discovered in Antarctica from a 1907 expedition of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton
's supplies. The 11 bottles of whisky recovered were of the Mackinlay brand; however, Whyte and Mackay now oversee those distilleries.
On October 14, 2010, Whyte and Mackay sold two bottles of their 64-year-old Dalmore Trinitas malt whisky for 100,000 pounds each, or about $160,000. According to the master distiller, only three bottles of this whisky were ever made, and it will not be made again.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
company producing alcoholic beverage
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
s. It was founded in 1844 and is based in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. Since May 2007, Whyte and Mackay has been owned by United Breweries Group, a large India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n conglomerate
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
.
Charles Mackay and James Whyte started a company as whisky merchants and bonded warehousemen in Glasgow in 1882. W&M Special was their first blended whisky and it was successful in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and other English speaking countries around the world. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
they focused on the home market and now sell more than 1 million cases a year.
The company sells Single Malt and Blended
Blended whiskey
A blended whisky is the product of blending different types of whiskies and often also neutral and near-neutral spirits, coloring, and flavorings...
Scotch
Scotch whisky
Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland.Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky , Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, and Blended Scotch Whisky.All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three...
Whiskies, Liqueur
Liqueur
A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
s, and Vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
s. Their brands include the W&M 13/19/22/30/40yr old blends[]; Dalmore, Isle of Jura, and Fettercairn
Fettercairn
Fettercairn is a small village in northeast Scotland. It is located northwest of Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire on the B966 from Edzell...
Single Malts; Glayva
Glayva
Glayva is a liqueur produced in Leith, Scotland, by Whyte and Mackay Ltd. It is marketed with the slogan 'best liqueur in the world'.Glayva is made from a blend of aged Scotch whiskies, herbs, anise, cloves, almonds, heather honey, and citrus fruits...
liqueur
Liqueur
A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...
; and Vladivar Vodka
Vladivar Vodka
Vladivar Vodka is a brand of vodka distilled in the UK. Originally made in Warrington by the G & J Greenall distillery, the brand was sold in 1990 to Whyte and Mackay and is today made in Scotland...
.
Whyte and Mackay were sponsors of the English
Football in England
Association football is a national sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game...
football team Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
from 2003 to 2006, but their backing did little to save the club from a financial crisis which cost them their place in the Premier League. The brand currently sponsors Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
club Hibernian
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
in the Scottish Premier League
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
, the Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore is a cricket team based in Bangalore that plays in the Indian Premier League and currently lead by Daniel Vettori. The team is owned by Dr...
in the IPL
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
, the PDC Premier League Darts
Premier League Darts
The 888.com Premier League Darts is a darts tournament which launched on January 20, 2005 on Sky Sports, and is currently the world's largest indoor sports event. The league is now played weekly from February to May, having originally started as a fortnightly fixture...
and the Force India
Force India
Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and...
Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
racing team (also owned by Dr Vijay Mallya
Vijay Mallya
Vijay Mallya is an Indian liquor and airline baron. The son of industrialist Vittal Mallya, he is the chairman of the United Breweries Group and Kingfisher Airlines. His United Spirits is world's second largest liquor maker, by volume...
).
Boxes of Whyte and Mackay can be seen in the 1931 film The Public Enemy
The Public Enemy
The Public Enemy is a 1931 American Pre-Code crime film starring James Cagney and directed by William A. Wellman. The film relates the story of a young man's rise in the criminal underworld in prohibition-era urban America...
.
In 2009, the company expanded into Social Media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
setting up Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
accounts for Whyte and Mackay whisky and Jura Superstition. It also launched an ARG/online and offline game consisting of Twitter and GPS updates called the Whyte and Mackay Safari Hunt.http://www.allmediascotland.com/media_releases/4432/industry_first_as_whyte_and_mackay_uses_twitter_and_google_latitude_to_launch_the_whyte_and_mackay_safari_hunt
March 2009 saw John Beard, former chief executive of Bacardi Brown Forman, replace Ashwin Malik as chief executive of Whyte and Mackay.
In October 2009, Whyte and Mackay Master Blender Richard Paterson announced on his blog site that the 30 year old Whyte and Mackay whisky had been voted the best blended whisky in the world in two different prestigious whisky competitions.
In August 2010, it was reported that Whyte and Mackay will be attempting to replicate a supply of whisky discovered in Antarctica from a 1907 expedition of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton
Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...
's supplies. The 11 bottles of whisky recovered were of the Mackinlay brand; however, Whyte and Mackay now oversee those distilleries.
On October 14, 2010, Whyte and Mackay sold two bottles of their 64-year-old Dalmore Trinitas malt whisky for 100,000 pounds each, or about $160,000. According to the master distiller, only three bottles of this whisky were ever made, and it will not be made again.
External links
- Whyte and Mackay official site
- Article about Whyte and Mackay
- Dr. Whisky on Whyte and Mackay