James Eadie

James Eadie was a 19th-century brewer and whisky blender whose name faded after his business was absorbed. The modern company was set up by one of his descendants, who revived the name and his old blend, Trademark X, alongside a programme of single cask bottlings.

Like most independent bottlers, James Eadie does not distill. It selects casks of matured whisky from Scottish distilleries and bottles them under its own label, so the choice of cask and the decision to bottle as it is or to give it extra time in a different cask rest with the bottler. Some releases are finished in a second cask before bottling.

In our catalogue the bottlings come mostly from Speyside and Highland distilleries in the Diageo group: Linkwood, Benrinnes, Glenlossie, Teaninich, Auchroisk, Mannochmore and Inchgower, with Caol Ila from Islay. Labels typically give the age, vintage and cask number, as in the 15 Year Old 2007 (cask 362134).

Buyers will mainly meet the Single Cask range, each release limited to the yield of one cask, plus occasional exclusives for retailers such as Drinks by the Dram and small named releases like Finglassie 6 Year Old 2017. Because each cask differs, it pays to read the label details for strength and cask type.