Firm full of spirit and in like Finn

Ross and Russell come from a private equity background and were working with a client in Hong Kong who had an interest in alternative investments. He tasked them with carrying out due diligence on whisky casks, which saw the duo visit distilleries in Scotland and a cooperage in France.

“We fell in love with whisky and made good contacts,” explains Ross. “Looking at the cask dealership market, we didn’t feel there were any really compelling offerings for consumers. Russell and I decided to set up a business to do things better than what was available and that’s how we started Spiritfilled.”

Spiritfilled is headquartered on the picturesque Lindores farm at Newburgh in Fife where its 20,000sq ft state-of-the-art Braeside Bond is located. The warehouse currently houses more than 8,000 casks, with capacity for 13,000.Ross and Russell visited several sites before choosing Braeside. Ross says: “It feels like the Highlands, but you’re still in the Lowlands and only about an hour’s drive from Edinburgh.”

The HMRC bonded warehouse, overlooking the River Tay, opened its doors to whisky investors and collectors in 2024. This year, Spiritfilled has invested a six-figure sum in an advanced racking system to securely house barrels and hogsheads. And in the last few months it has introduced a cloud-based platform called Vapour to enhance transparency.

It digitises the entire warehouse and cask management process. Regardless of where they may be in the world, cask owners and importers can track their investments at the bond using their mobile phones.

Ross says the software system reflects Spiritfilled’s ethos: “Transparency is in everything we do throughout the company, with our supply chain and with our customers. Vapour has allowed us to take that to the next level.“When a cask arrives at Braeside, we photograph it and that goes on the client’s portal, and we provide them with a delivery order which shows 100 per cent ownership.

“We also effectively do an MOT health check of each cask. Clients are welcome to arrange to visit Braehouse and draw samples from their casks, something a lot of other companies don’t allow. We’re retail client focused. For us, it’s all about integrity and transparency.”

Roughly half of Spirtfillled’s clients are UK-based, with about a quarter from Asia and another quarter from other parts of the globe, including Europe, the US, and Australia, and many investors travel to Scotland to visit their casks.

Another attraction of the site is that the farmers who own the land at Lindores have diversified to offer luxury accommodation, where guests can have their food prepared by a private chef and enjoy equestrian activities. It recently featured on the BBC’s Scotland’s Greatest Escape TV series, where it reached the finals, winning the Foodie category.

Ross says: “Clients who visit can get a good glimpse of Scotland. They could do a tour at neighbouring Lindores Abbey Distillery, play golf on one of the many courses nearby, and enjoy trout fishing on the loch across the road.”He describes having Finn Russell on board as a “match made in heaven” as the Scotland and Bath player already had an interest in whisky and cask investment.

And a sign of Spiritfilled’s success is that Ross and Russell are looking for a second warehouse as they expect to reach capacity at Braeside in the near future

High-quality folklore-inspired flavour

Spirtifilled’s independent bottling business, Mythical Beasts, is inspired by Scottish myth and folklore and is the vision of whisky-loving co-founders Ross and Russell.

Ross says: “We feel that through our bottlings, people can get a taste of what we’re about. Nothing is bottled without approval from Russell and I. Our range is high-quality, predominantly cask-strength and focused on single casks and single malts, launched as limited editions.”

The company usually re-racks its whiskies into various cask types, including sherry, port and rum, for them to impart different flavour profiles.

What also makes Mythical Beasts stand out is the firm’s NEOC – “New Era of Casks” – technique of enhancing aged casks. They are believed to be the first Scotch whisky company to adopt this method, carried out by a cooper in Cognac. It’s similar to “re-char de-char”, but with “exceptional results”.

The approach is paying off. Mythical Beasts was shortlisted for Scotch Whisky Producer of the Year 2024 at the prestigious International Wine & Spirit Competition awards. It earned three gold medals for bottlings Caol Ila 13 Year Old, Mannochmore 15 Year Old, and Bruichladdich 13 Year Old.

Ross adds: “We’re expanding the Mythical Beasts range with four new expressions – a 13-year-old Aberdour, 13-year-old Old Balmenach, 24-year-old Loch Lomond and 30-year-old Tomatin. “We’re also maturing liquid for the launch of a blended Scotch.”

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