The best of Berry Bros & Rudd autumn spirit releases

Ronnie Cox, the brand’s heritage director, goes deeper: ‘The first records we have of selling brandy date from 1795, and by the beginning of the 1800s there were plenty of casks of various spirits being stored in the cellars under these parts of London,’ he says. ‘But the real change came with the Single Bottle Act, in 1861, when wine and spirits merchants were able to sell individual bottles. Previous to this, it was the domain of the bigger houses and wealthier households who could afford to buy and store casks.’ This change in law opened the door for Berrys to become the independent bottler that it remains today. ‘We think we are the oldest independent bottler of spirits still in existence,’ notes Rudd.

‘It was when Lizzy’s grandfather came into the business in 1920 that the whisky side started to shape up,’ says Cox. ‘Before that, it was all about customers coming in and selecting a spirit to be bottled. That’s when we took on the role of curating the spirit in-bottle.’ In 1923, Berrys saw an opportunity in the Prohibition-hit United States, where the demand for illicit Scotch whisky had rocketed. To quench the thirst that had developed, the merchant came up with a new concept: a light and drinkable blended Scotch, Cutty Sark. Bottles would be shipped to the Bahamas, and the rest of the work would be done by the now famous runners. This foothold into the all-important American market gave Cutty Sark – and Berrys – a significant advantage, and by the middle of the 20th century, after the repeal of Prohibition, Cutty Sark was selling more than a million cases a year in Manhattan alone.

The platform allowed the business to build strong relationships with distilleries across Scotland, building up stocks of Scotch of its own. Through these relationships, Berrys acquired the rights to The Glenrothes single malt, the first single malt to release only vintages as core expressions, further bolstering the business’s whisky credentials.

Today, after selling both Cutty Sark (2010) and The Glenrothes (2017), Berrys is focusing on its own range of independently bottled, hand-selected, aged spirits. ‘We found ourselves without a big brand in whisky,’ notes Cox. ‘And that’s when we said to ourselves, “Hang on – we do have a brand.” So we decided to focus more fully on our Own Selection range.’

This freedom brought about a wider vision for the merchant’s own-label offerings, made up of purchased spirits, as outlined by reserve spirits manager Doug McIvor. ‘We are now focusing on what independent bottling is all about, which is diversity,’ he tells me. ‘It’s not just about Scotch whisky these days; I’m looking at the wider whisky world, as well as rum, too. It’s about investing in the right thing for future generations, looking at how tastes change over the years and choosing the best from around the world.’

With more than 35 years’ experience in wine and spirits, McIvor is about to complete his second decade at Berry Bros & Rudd, and his love of spirits is wide. Herein lies the key to Berrys’ Own Selection range of spirits. Rooted in whisky (McIvor is a Scotsman, after all), it has grown to encompass a wider range of spirits – from Cognac to rum, Armagnac to Calvados – selected purely on their ability to delight. ‘The best possible products for their price’, as McIvor puts it. It is his job to deliver this.

‘I’m like the head gardener at an estate,’ he says. ‘I’ve got a seed bank of casks, and I watch over them, always ensuring there is a mix of fruit, flowers and vegetables for the big house.’

This is evidenced in the 2021 autumn batch of releases, which encompasses not just benchmark Scottish single malts but also whiskey from Chicago and rum from Barbados. The previous summer batch included Tasmanian single malt, a first for the firm, taking its place alongside traditional spirits from Scotland. And for such special spirits, Berrys has gone one further, working with top design house Stranger & Stranger to develop a bespoke bottle for its Own Selection, the first time the merchant has taken this route for 323 years.

Berry Bros & Rudd is a business that has always been fleet of foot; it has had to be in order to survive for more than three centuries. Yet it is fleet of foot in classic leather brogues, competing in the Olympics on a penny farthing – and winning. ‘We talk about having one foot in the past and one in the future,’ says Rudd. ‘We learn from the past, but we’re always looking ahead. People come back to us generation after generation. When someone buys a bottle with our name on it, we want it to be a stamp of approval, to be the best in its class.’

Through its own-label spirits range, Berrys finds itself in the same bracket as its counterparts across Mayfair on Savile Row – tailors who don’t make the cloth but cut it and style it with extreme care, knowledge and expertise. For those dealing in great taste, it’s the place to go if you’re looking for something smart, stylish and always in fashion.

The best of Berrys’ Own Selection autumn releases

To see the full range of Berry Bros & Rudd’s autumn spirits visit www.bbrspirits.com