Halewood Artisanal Spirits Appoints Dr Kirstie McCallum as New Master Blender
Halewood Artisanal Spirits has announced the appointment of Dr Kirstie McCallum as its new master blender, as the business looks to strengthen its fast growing whisky portfolio.
McCallum will be responsible for evolving and developing Halewood’s core whisky brands, which includes Crabbie whisky from Scotland, Irish whiskies, Gelston’s & The Pogues, Aber Falls Welsh whisky and Peaky Blinder English whisky from Halewood’s newest distillery in the West Midlands. In addition, she will work with the group on new projects and expressions.
McCallum has over 20 years experience in the spirits industry, and joins Halewood Artisanal Spirits from Glen Turner, where she worked as head of whisky creation for the Glen Moray brand. Prior to this, she was the senior blender at Distell International, working across the Bunnahabhain, Deanston and Tobermory brands.
Lee Tayburn, Operations and Production Director at Halewood Artisanal Spirits comments; “As a business, we are dedicated to growing our portfolio of artisanal spirits, and of course whisky plays a very important part in this. Over the last five years we have invested heavily in distilleries across the UK and globally, and are constantly evolving to ensure that we provide our customers with premium, quality spirits with provenance. With her extensive experience and expertise, Kirstie will be integral to this, and we look forward to working closely together as we grow and develop our whisky credentials”.
Dr Kirstie McCallum comments; “From brands like Crabbie’s, with its rich whisky history dating back to the 1830s, to new expressions from younger brands such as Peaky Blinder and The Pogues, Halewood Artisanal Spirits has a very diverse and exciting whisky portfolio. I’m really looking forward to working alongside the team to develop these brands, and using my industry experience to help create the best possible whisky offer”.
NOTES:
About Halewood Artisanal Spirits (www.halewood-int.com)
Halewood Artisanal Spirits is an award-winning UK-based craft distiller and the winner of the IWSC UK Gin Producer 2018 Award. Premium gin brands include Whitley Neill, J. J. Whitley, City of London Distillery, Marylebone Gin and Liverpool Gin.
Halewood has a strong portfolio of other high growth premium sprits, including Dead Man’s Fingers spiced rum, Rum Sixty Six, The Pogues Irish Whiskey, Gelston’s Irish Whiskey and Crabbie Whisky.
In the 2020 IWSC Awards, Halewood’s artisanal spirits won 3 gold outstanding, 6 gold, 12 silver and 23 bronze medals. In the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition they were awarded four double golds, 9 golds, 15 silvers and 24 bronze Awards. The spirits also won 9 silver and 5 bronze Awards in the Global Spirits Masters and two gold, ten silver and six Bronze in the International Spirits Challenge, 2019.
The business operates 11 artisanal distilleries across the UK, Russia, Australia and South Africa including: The Liverpool Gin Distillery, Crabbie Distillery in Edinburgh, Aber Falls Distillery in North Wales, Bankhall Distillery in Blackpool, The City of London and Marylebone Distilleries in London, The Bristol & Bath Rum Distillery, Ironbark in Sydney, Halewood in South Africa and JJ Whitley in Russia. The company also operates the Hawkshead Brewery in Cumbria.
Outside the UK, the business exports products to over 90 countries around the world and has significant operations in a number of international markets including North America, Canada, Russia, Australia and China. The business has a £400m+ turnover, and employs over 750 employees globally.
The business was founded by the late John Halewood in 1978 and it remains owned and controlled by the Halewood family.
Drinkaware is an independent UK-wide, alcohol education charity with the objective of positively changing public behaviour and the national drinking culture. It aims to reduce alcohol misuse and minimise harm by helping people make better choices about their drinking. It achieves this by providing impartial, evidence-based information, advice and practical resources; raising awareness of alcohol and its harms and by working collaboratively with partners (including the medical community, public health, third sector organisations, local authorities, police and the drinks industry).
Drinkaware has more than 100 funders, including UK alcohol producers, retailers in the on-trade and off-trade, and wholesalers.