What's the deal with Blackwood?

There are questions in the whisky community about Blackwood Distillers. The Scotch Whisky Review just released their own humorous take on the lack of actual distillation taking place at the company, and Ian Buxton, frequent TSB contributor has his own thoughts on the subject.

He asks the questions that a lot of people have been banging around - "What the hell is the deal with Blackwood Distillers?

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Is no one else bothered by the activities of Blackwood Distillers?

Quite remarkably this company is still promoting themselves as “Blackwood Distillers of Shetland” with the claim “From the remotest region of Scotland, come pure natural spirits…”

That must be darkest Airdrie (some 15 arduous and remote miles from Glasgow city centre) where, under a private label contract, InverHouse Distillers make most of Blackwood’s white spirits.  (For those unfamiliar with the geography of Scotland, Shetland is a group of islands in the far North, nearly 400 miles from Airdrie and involving a 12 hour sea crossing.)

You can’t keep good PR spin down but even from past hype-meisters such as Blackwood it’s frankly incredible that their shetlandwhisky.com website is still offering “bonds” from the long-awaited Shetland Distillery and promising delivery of a case of three year old whisky in “late 2006”.

Perhaps they’ve done a deal with Dr Who and will borrow the TARDIS to travel back in time and magically produce this whisky, thus astounding us all.  Or perhaps they’re just living in an alternative dimension and imagine that the consumer will keep swallowing this garbage.
 
What’s possibly worse is their use of children in their marketing. Some might even call it ‘abuse’.  Consider: there can hardly be a code on alcohol promotion anywhere on the planet that doesn’t forbid the promotion of hard liquor to minors.  And quite right too.
 
But what about the promotion of hard liquor by minors.  Well, that’s OK apparently, at least according to Blackwood Distillers.  The imaginatively named company (they don’t actually distil anything, but they’re going to – honest) feature a number of fresh-faced youngsters on their blackwooddistillers.com website sharing their hopes and dreams for the business.
 
Little Eleanor Blackwood, for example, is pictured in her bedroom telling us that her “aim for Blackwood” is that she “Get paid more pocket monet (sic) for helping, company Shetland pony, all comes out successfully”.
 
Meanwhile, her sister Pippa (5¾), who likes feeding grass to horses, shares her hope that Blackwood “makes some money so we can spend more time together as a family”.  Various other small children, not one of them over 7, gaze winsomely out from the screen – all this, let it be remembered, to promote a range of 40% abv spirits including the tasteful “Diva Loves You” vodka. 
 
At up to £540,000 a bottle (we’re not making this up by the way), we’re not talking Care Bears or My Little Pony here.  But clearly we’re supposed to believe that these childish thoughts were spontaneous and original.  You might describe all this as ‘charming’. ‘Cynical’, ‘exploitative’ and ‘tacky’ are some other adjectives that spring to mind, however and, sadly, I’m forced to conclude:
 
“Have these people no shame?”

Comments

[Wandering Pict]

A company who is driven by an enthusiastic chief executive with a great vision, but not a lot of money. ( Now where have I heard that before?)
Great to see the kids involved in their parents dreams but I agree not on such a website and almost endorsing the products.
Will it ever happen? I have been involved at various stages on the project and will continue to work with the team if required but I am now becoming more sceptical by the day that this distillery will ever be built. I would though love to be proved wrong.

[Michael Dereszynski]

Children and Faerie Tales! We all like a good story even one thats hard to believe.Can we hear the one called Muckle Flugga ? Once upon a time,a long time ago on the most northern rock of the most northern isle,a beautiful maiden found three oak barrels each filled with magic spirits.......
What ever happened?

[Japanesewhisky]

Great post.