Overview: Eight Lands represents a distinct approach within the Scottish spirits landscape, focusing on organic vodka and gin rather than traditional whisky production. Based at Glenrinnes Distillery near Dufftown, the brand leverages nearly 7,000 acres of estate land and natural water sources to establish a super-premium profile.
The Full Story
The home of Scottish spirits brand Eight Lands sits within Glenrinnes, an organic Speyside farming estate on the slopes of Ben Rinnes near Dufftown. The estate was acquired by Alasdair Locke in 1993 and has since expanded to a nearly 7,000-acre operation encompassing farming, forestry, and its own natural water sources, including the Clashmarloch Spring. Those assets, combined with the estate’s organic credentials and Speyside location, convinced Mr Locke and his stepson, Alex Christou, that there was an opportunity to build a premium vodka and gin business rather than following the well-trodden path of creating another whisky brand.
Glenrinnes Distillery opened in 2018 and launched the Eight Lands brand the following year, taking its name from the eight historic counties visible from the summit of Ben Rinnes on a clear day. Its organic vodka and gin have gone onto win international awards, including recognition at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, while building a growing presence in export markets. The brand is positioned as an exclusive alternative to mass-produced super-premium brands emphasizing provenance and quality.
Production & Profile
The Eight Lands name, the Clashmarloch Spring and organic certification all feed into a story about provenance. We believe that strong brands can be built through a combination of superb products, engaging story-telling that combines transparency and provenance, and attractive and eye-catching packaging. The distillery was built to allow for growth, ensuring consistency of quality from bottle to bottle.
Eight Lands is a quality-focused brand where taste is what matters most. The positioning and pricing strategy have not changed since launch. There is scope to scale and built Glenrinnes Distillery to allow for growth, but also designed operating systems and procedures to ensure consistency of quality from bottle to bottle. The operation is meticulous in using only the very best and highest-quality product of distillations, without making up volume by using the heads and tails, effectively combining small-batch production with high-level quality control.
Brand & Industry History
Acquired by Alasdair Locke in 1993, the estate has evolved significantly over three decades. The distillery opened in 2018 and launched the Eight Lands brand the following year, taking its name from the eight historic counties visible from the summit of Ben Rinnes on a clear day. Those assets, combined with the estate’s organic credentials and Speyside location, convinced Mr Locke and his stepson, Alex Christou, that there was an opportunity to build a premium vodka and gin business rather than following the well-trodden path of creating another whisky brand.
What This Means
Awards and accolades are an important element of building a super-premium brand, particularly in the early days. They provide credibility to both trade customers and consumers, and play an important role in opening conversations with potential partners. The “Best of Class” at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition is a great example of this, helping to engage with new distributors when opening up new markets on the US east coast and leading to exciting new growth opportunities. Whilst this aim was something that was put forward at launch, export markets are playing a key role in Eight Lands’ growth. Promising results have been seen in the early days in the exciting US market, whilst there are a number of Asian markets where the liquid and brand story seem to resonate with buyers.
Consumer Takeaway
The intention with Eight Lands was for both vodka and gin to sit as contemporary-classic spirits in the super-premium space. The brand never considered creating niche, seasonal or trend-based spirits, wanting instead to provide consumers with a fantastic vodka and a fantastic gin that would work in all their favourite serves, whether classic or modern. It is the coloured and flavoured spirits categories that saw some of the largest growth and biggest volume drops, and Eight Lands was not impacted by that. The brand offers an opportunity for exceptionally well-made organic vodka and gin, created with Scottish spring water and distilled at a family-owned distillery.
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