The big interview: Cara Laing 3rd March, 2021 by Melita Kiely
As director of whisky and part of the third generation of family-owned Douglas Laing & Co, Cara Laing has a close affinity with the brand. She tells us how the pursuit of a career in vodka led her home to whisky and plans for Strathearn Distillery.
Cara Laing, director of whisky at Douglas Laing This feature was originally published in the December 2020 issue of The Spirits Business magazine.
“I was given my first Port Ellen in a Hot Toddy aged about nine, and I thought it was the most disgusting stuff, and I didn’t really understand how it paid for holidays and nice things in life,” recalls Cara Laing. It’s a lot to ask of a nine‐year‐old to appreciate the nuances of a brand as prestigious as Port Ellen, even one who is part of the third generation of family‐ owned whisky bottler Douglas Laing & Co.
There’s nothing quite as captivating as the bronze allure of whisky in a crystal decanter that we’ve been wanting to cop since we laid eyes on the one Don Draper would keep neatly perched on his office bar cart. Yes, we know this reference is as old as time, but like whisky, the character’s timeless appeal of all things fine sans smoking has aged well too. Speaking of which, according to The Spirit Business mag, three scotch whisky brands are going to make waves in 2021, including an organic single malt and two yesteryear classics.
Whisky guide: 3 scotch whisky brands whisky aficionados should bag a bottle of in 2021