An
old-fashioned lunch in the parlour of 3 St James’s Street in London on 23rd
March 1923 changed the course of Scotch whisky history for ever. In attendance
were Francis Berry and Hugh Rudd, the partners of the world’s most prestigious
wine and spirits merchants, Berry Bros. & Rudd, together with Scottish
artist James McBey. The conversation turned, inevitably, to whisky; Berrys’ had
been selling its own brands for some time in the UK and a small amount had been
exported to the USA to private customers immediately before World War I. Berry
Bros. & Rudd, like all good merchants, knew what their customers liked and
felt that heavy, dark whiskies would spoil the palate of their wine-loving
clientele.
The USA was
in the grips of Prohibition but there were signs that this would not last
forever; the partners saw an opportunity to create a new type of blended Scotch
specifically for an international market. It was suggested that this whisky
should differentiate itself from those already available by being lighter in
style, blended only from the very finest whiskies. The new blend was to be
bottled at its naturally pale colour to avoid the danger of caramel colouring
masking its more subtle flavours. Coincidentally, this style of blended whisky
would suit their personal tastes as wine drinkers.Other
blenders continued to market heavier, darker blends giving the new Berry Bros.
& Rudd blend a real point of difference in an already competitive market.
All that was missing was a name; the world’s fastest ship – a tea clipper named
Cutty Sark – had just returned from many years trading and was much in the news
at the time. James McBey, a keen sailor, suggested that this would be an
admirable name for the new whisky. He then proceeded to draw a preliminary
design on a napkin and used the correct term ‘Scots’ rather than the more
common ‘Scotch’ whisky.nc