William Grant & Sons wants to ‘educate’ consumers with its new Scotch whisky brand

Drinks giant William Grant & Sons has added a new whisky label to its portfolio which aims to “decode” the notoriously intimidating category for new consumers.

The 10-year aged single malt whisky, which comes in two expressions — “Land” and “Sea” — which brand manager Sean Wieman hopes will enable drinkers to feel better informed on a spirits category which has a reputation as “complex and intimidating.”

“We wanted to create a brand that would allow consumers to make a confident choice,” he said.

“We recognise that for some consumers, the category is complex and can be intimidating. With Aerstone we want to break down some of those barriers and help simplify single malts, inviting existing malt drinkers and new entrants to learn about all the different flavours and styles of single malt Scotch.”

The brand focusses on the impact of maturation and malting on flavour, and “aims to simplify the taste messaging in the single malt category.”

The Sea Cask, described as “smooth and easy: on the pack, is a typical Speyside-style single malt with nutty vanilla notes. It develops its character from the time spent “ageing in warehouses located close to the sea on the Ayrshire coast.”

The Land Cask, described as ‘rich and smoky’ is a peated single malt which is developed in warehouses further inland.

The two new expressions come two months after William Grant & Sons released its annual market report, which found that consumers are increasingly concerned with locally-sourced ingredients and a desire for more information about what they are drinking.

“Our consumer research has shown that an accessible single malt is set to be a great addition to both the category and our portfolio,” said managing director Neil Barker.

“Aerstone perfectly complements people’s increasing interest in hyper-localism.”