Latest news with #Glenrothes
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Glenrothes' New Release Is Delicious, Affordable And A Surprise Move
The Glenrothes The 15 is a more-accessible new release that bucks market trends towards premiumization. Courtesy: Glenrothes After a relatively prosperous era of expansion, the Scotch whisky category is showing signs of strain. According to the Scotch Whisky Association, export volumes dropped nearly 9.5% in 2023, even though total sales remained roughly the same. Similar trends have been reported in the U.S., with the Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS) reporting a 17.4% drop in volume from 2019 to 2024. That same report shows that the only growth category by revenue has been 'super premium,' For a long time, a go-to strategy has been a tilt toward even more high-end offerings: premiumization. Higher age statements, boutique packaging, and collector-geared bottlings became the norm. Just last month, Tamdhu released a 43-year-old expression priced at $16,000 and Johnnie Walker launched the first releases from its much-hyped Johnnie Walker Vault. But in 2025, economic caution is setting in and consumer spend is flattening. RBC analysts focusing on Diageo (which owns Johnnie Walker, Talisker and Lagavulin, among others) said late last year that they 'estimate that the proportion of sales from high-end reserve brands fell from 29% in 2023 to 27% in 2024.' That's on top on-and-off tariffs threatening massive price swings and availability issues for consumers. Amid all that uncertainty, there's an opening for contrarian moves. That's the market context surrounding the release of The Glenrothes The 15, a new permanent addition to the Speyside distillery's portfolio. Now available across the U.S, The 15 comes in with an age statement below their flagship 18 and 25-year-old expressions (not to mention their very, very premium 42-year-old option). Moving to a lower age statement seems like a broad against premiumization—though it's not entirely so simple. First off, at $100 SRP, this Single Malt certainly hasn't entered the 'value' category. With 100% first-fill European oak sherry casks, upscale packaging, and a complex flavor profile, The 15 is designed to hit a balancing point: accessible yet still prestige. Laura Rampling, The Glenrothes' Master Whisky Maker, describes the spirit in a statement as "a counterintuitive marriage of the delicate and the bold," bringing sweet fruit and bright spice into a bold but balanced profile. It finishes rich, silky, and spice-laced, an excellent example of the Speyside style and a very sessionable sipper in general. The Glenrothes, long considered a hidden gem in Speyside, has built a quiet legacy since 1879 with its slow distillation and emphasis on high-quality oak. The release of The 15 underscores its confidence in those fundamentals. Where some competitors are trimming SKUs or maintaining a slate of ultra-limited releases, The Glenrothes is reinforcing its house style while also onboarding a more affordable age statement. The Glenrothes The 15 marks a shift in the age-statements that the distillery offers. Courtesy: The Glenrothes In a tightening market, The Glenrothes The 15 isn't just a new bottle, it's a signal that brands can't count on premiumization forever. That's not to say that brands won't still release ultra-premium expressions. Instead, if The 15 shows signs of success, there could be an opening for brands with a willingness to carry their upscale products to a more accessible point in the market. It could also answer signal a new trend: premiumization that goes both ways.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
I saw what Gordon Ramsay had and thought 'I want that'
Stuart Ralston was destined for a culinary dad was a chef, his mum was a chef and his brothers went into the business was necessity that took him into his first kitchen at 13 "so he could afford his own trainers".But it was hard work that led him to his first Michelin star, bagged in February at the age of with four renowned restaurants in Edinburgh, the Glenrothes-born chef who cut his teeth in New York under Gordon Ramsay has come a long way. Ralston's housing estate upbringing couldn't be further away from the upmarket fine dining establishments he finds himself in told the BBC Scotland's Scotcast: "If you come from a background where potentially you didn't have much and you wanted to get more, it gives you a certain chip on your shoulder or a resilience that you can really battle through a lot of hard times.""The business is a hard business to be in and it takes people who are really determined not to fail and I think that's the common thing that I always see with a lot people in our industry."Ralston was the victim of two knife assaults in his youth."In primary I was slashed with a pair of scissors from my ear to the bottom of my mouth after an argument with someone."And in high school I got slashed on my leg with a box cutter with someone just walking through the hallways."So, you know, I didn't grow up in the most affluent of areas, it was a dog-eat-dog world. But I think getting out of that just made me determined to not be part of that culture. Ralston worked his way through the ranks in his late teens and early 20s and then chanced his arm by asking celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay for job at his New York restaurant."I'd done a trial in London for him that I thought I'd messed up really badly, but I still got offered the job because I had an attitude. I really cared about my career and trying to be something and I think they saw that."I got an opportunity that not many people did. There was maybe only eight British guys taken out to America. "I was 23 years old and I didn't know anybody."He doesn't recognise the angry, potty-mouthed Gordon Ramsay that made his mark on TV shows. But he did soak up the work ethic and skills on display around him."I didn't really see what people see on TV as much. It was definitely tough, and he was definitely passionate about what we were doing."I worked more so with the head chefs that had been with him for a long time."After two years, scraping chewing gum off tables, prepping vegetables and setting up the staff canteen led to kitchen training and running every section of Ramsay's restaurant at the London spent five years in New York, rising to head chef status and then spent a stint back in the UK before a time at the Sandy Lane Hotel in Barbados. Fast forward to 2025 and he is halfway through his most successful year. He has four Edinburgh restaurants - Aizle, Noto, Tipo and Lyla, for which he was awarded his first Michelin star in says his kitchens run differently to those days in the early 2000s and that the culture has changed."It was rough, really rough," he admitted."When I was started out, you're working all the hours. The conditions were tough. "I've seen fights, I've see people getting burned, I have seen things being thrown at people. I have seen people being kicked out of kitchens for mistakes. "But mostly, I would say, I don't think there's many kitchens that would run like that nowadays." For someone who dreamed of owning his own restaurant from a young age, Stuart Ralston has realised his says he grew into who he is and changed his perspective when he saw what was possible, learning from the best people around him. He said: "Take Gordon for example, look what he's done in his life. I saw him and I wanted a bit of that."
Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Glenrothes 51 Year Old And The Death Of Whisky As We Knew It
What does it say about whisky today that you have to break this open just to see what's inside? Opening a bottle of whiskey is always, in some sense, an act of destruction. Regardless of its value, the moment the seal is broken, the bottle is stripped of its monetary worth on the secondary market. Sure, there's the pleasure of drinking it, but from a purely commercial standpoint, that moment marks the loss of financial value. This idea isn't new. But The Glenrothes 51 Year Old (priced at $46,500) takes the concept of deliberate destruction to another level. To even see the bottle, let alone taste the liquid inside, you must first destroy the casing that holds it. The whisky comes housed inside a cylindrical column made from Jesmonite, which is a composite of mineral powder (like gypsum or chalk) and water based resin. It looks more like a piece of contemporary sculpture than traditional packaging. It also comes with a branded hammer. Why? Because the only way to access the whisky is to smash open the column. It's arguably the pinnacle of whisky consumerism and a masterstroke of gimmickry. But to dismiss it on those terms alone would be reductive. The Glenrothes 51 Year Old isn't just a novelty in packaging or a marketing gimmick. It's a near-perfect example of how whisky has evolved beyond its traditional role as simply a drink. It encapsulates the broader shift I've written about in other articles: that whisky today is less about flavor or intoxication and more about symbolism, ownership and cultural capital. Reducing whisky to its 'use value', that is, something to be consumed, is to ignore the wider meanings we've collectively assigned to it. And, arguably, the entire industry has benefitted from this shift. Is this the first whisky release where the bottle, and the whisky itself, has been deliberately kept out of sight? The Glenrothes 51 embraces that transformation with almost theatrical clarity. The whisky itself is hidden until the owner chooses to destroy the column that encases it. Destruction is no longer a flaw in the process; it's the entire point. The act of opening the bottle becomes a ritual of transformation. And in doing so, the release lays bare how much of modern whisky culture is built around the object, not the liquid. Critics of this view often argue that collectors or investors have undermined whisky for the everyday drinker. But that's to overlook how the industry itself has shaped this landscape. Distilleries have spent decades building narratives around new releases, presenting each bottle as limited, special and aesthetically curated. Of course, there's a spectrum, with Macallan and Glenrothes sitting at the more theatrical end, with releases like the Macallan Horizon or the Glenrothes Philos. But even independent bottlers now frequently list edition numbers on labels and commission artists to design bespoke labels. Even Springbank—often held up as a kind of anti-brand—recently released the Countdown Collection: a highly limited series aimed squarely at collectors. Its scarcity invites not just appreciation but FOMO. It's a series meant to be pursued, not just consumed. What I admire most about the Glenrothes 51 is that it doesn't pretend otherwise. It's refreshingly honest about the fact that most bottles will never be opened. It makes no attempt to position itself solely on the strength of the liquid inside, and in doing so, it offers a rare kind of clarity about what whisky has become. Collector's Club founders John (left) and Scott (right) with the Glenrothes 51 whisky bottle inside its column Given the $46,500 price tag and the private nature of many collectors, I'd wager that very few of these bottles will ever be destroyed, or enjoyed. But one chance remains to actually see the bottle and taste the whisky. The Collectors Club Competitions, a UK-based raffle platform, is offering one Glenrothes 51 Year Old bottle as a prize, with tickets priced at just $2 (£1.51). The winner will receive their bottle during a tasting dinner hosted by Michelin-starred chef Graeme Cheevers and the Glenrothes team, held at Cameron House on Loch Lomond. Coincidentally, the hotel itself is somewhere I stayed on my honeymoon many moons ago. There's a certain irony here. A bottle quite literally designed to be destroyed will almost certainly never be, at least not by those who can afford to buy it. But this competition offers a sliver of hope. Hope that one day, someone will have both the means and the mindset to smash it open, pour a dram and share what lies inside. For me, I really appreciate the Glenrothes 51 year old on a number of levels. I've no doubt the whisky inside will be excellent, but what stands out just as much is the thinking behind it. The design, the philosophy and the honesty of the concept; it's all carefully considered and bold. If Glenrothes keeps heading in this direction, combining great whisky with design integrity, I think we'll be seeing their name mentioned in the same breath as Macallan, Bowmore and Dalmore more and more in the years ahead.
Sky News
5 days ago
- Health
- Sky News
Fife school support worker who boasted of 'selling vapes to 11-year-olds' struck off
A support worker who sent inappropriate messages to children on Snapchat and found herself in the dock for buying a vape for a 12-year-old has been struck off. Gillian Sorbie has been reprimanded by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) for using "abusive and threatening" language when messaging a 12-year-old girl and for offering to buy nicotine vapes for another schoolgirl and her friends. Sorbie's bad behaviour occurred while employed as a pupil support officer with Fife Council at a Glenrothes primary school and while registered as a support worker in a children's day care service Between 7 and 9 March 2023, she sent a raft of Snapchat messages to a 12-year-old girl. Many were littered with swear words, with other messages saying "love you too, s**gbag", "just you wait till tomorrow, stupid fat wh**e", and "try not to kill yourself while I'm gone". Between 1 September and 2 October 2023, she then sent messages to a second 12-year-old girl. Sorbie offered to buy a vape for the child, asking: "Any particular type or flavour you want?" She also offered to buy vapes for the girl's friends, and in one message sent an image of the electronic devices with the caption: "Vapes £13 each or two for £20. 4,000 puffs each. Amazing value. DM me if you want any." During one handover, Sorbie advised the girl to give the money to one person, who would then jump in her car for the delivery and "dish them out" after she was gone. Sorbie said it would have to "be subtle", adding: "Got to be kept quiet, though. I can't have folk (people) knowing I'm selling vapes to 11-year-olds lol." She later messaged: "I trust you gals not to rat me out." Sorbie, however, later found herself in the dock and was last September convicted at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court of selling a nicotine vape to a 12-year-old. Ruling Sorbie's fitness to practise impaired, the SSSC has this month issued a removal order to strike her name from the watchdog's children and young people's workforce register - which effectively bans her from working in the industry. The SSSC said Sorbie provided two former pupils of the primary school where you worked with her contact details and then "repeatedly contacted them both on a social media messaging application". It said her actions were "further aggravated" by the "abusive" content of the messages. "You offered to sell nicotine vape devices to a child. This is an abuse of the trust placed in you by your employer and the parents of the children you were entrusted to care for," it added. The watchdog said Sorbie's misconduct "risked damaging the mental and emotional health" of the girls, adding: "Your actions also risked causing a child physical and emotional harm as that child could become addicted to nicotine." The SSSC said Sorbie attempted to delete messages as a parent of one of the children was trying to save them in an "attempt to conceal" her wrongdoing. The watchdog said Sorbie had offered "no insight or apology" for her behaviour, and her engagement with its investigation had been "limited". The SSSC added: "We did not consider there were any factors in your favour." In conclusion, the watchdog said a removal order was the "most appropriate sanction" to maintain the "continuing trust and confidence in the social service profession and the SSSC as the regulator of the profession". The removal order came into effect on Saturday. Sharon McKenzie, head of HR at Fife Council, said: "As a responsible employer, we don't discuss the individual circumstances of any current or former employees."
BBC News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Lecturer lost sight in one eye after Rewind music festival attack
Two men who left a university lecturer blind in one eye after an attack at a music festival have been jailed for a total of 10 Kerr, 33, and Simon Tierney, 38, attacked Antonio Grant, 53, at the Rewind Festival at Scone Palace in Perthshire in July Grant suffered extensive facial injuries and needed a metal plate inserted in his jaw following the the High Court in Glasgow, Kerr was jailed for five-and-a-half years, while Tierney was jailed for four-and-a-half years. Mr Grant had been at the festival with his lecturer did not know the pair, but had "polite" conversations with was attacked after walking away from Tierney, who became "aggressive" when Mr Grant refused his offer of a chip, the court victim was punched on the head and knocked to the ground before being repeatedly punched and suffered the permanent loss of vision in his right eye, which may need to be Grant The lecturer also required extensive dental work for six broken teeth. 'Cowardly attack' Sentencing Kerr and Tierney, Lord Renucci said they had carried out a "brutal, cowardly alcohol-fuelled attack on a vulnerable victim".He added: "The impact and consequences of your actions have been shattering to him and will be lifelong."Tierney and Kerr had earlier separately admitted to assaulting Mr Grant to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and pair, both of Glenrothes, Fife, will be supervised for a further two years on their release.A non-harassment order was also imposed banning them from approaching or contacting the victim for an indefinite period.
