Wemyss The Hive 12 Year Old

About Wemyss Malts

"Our family links to the whisky industry date back to 1824," says William Wemyss, the founder and CEO of Wemyss Malts, "when John Haig built his distillery on family land in Fife."Wemyss (pronounced "Weems") is the ancient Gaelic word for caves and stems from the rocky outcrop on which the Wemyss family home — Castle Wemyss — rests. Haig's distillery eventually became known as Cameron Bridge and in 1826, it became the first distillery to produce grain whisky using the column still method invented by Robert Stein.

Today, the Wemyss family expertly blends some of the finest whiskies made across Scotland. "Our whiskies are chosen by a tasting panel" says Wemyss, "and the tasting panel comprises people who work in the business, members of the family, and most importantly, is chaired by Charlie MacLean who helps us select the industry's best whiskies to bottle under our brand."

MacLean, who has been writing about whisky since 1981, was trained in "the sensory evaluation of potable spirits" by the Scotch Whisky Research Institute in 1992. In addition to being a visiting lecturer at the Smithsonian Institution, he is also a Councillor of Clan Maclean and was elected Master of the Quaich (Quaich is derived from the Gaelic word meaning cup), one of the Scotch industry's highest accolades, in October 2009.