Scotch whisky isn’t just for the hearth. With The Nite Owl, Distilled Drinks is bringing a daring, night-focused vitality to the class. One designed for the late bars, the mixology crowd, and the subsequent era of whisky drinkers. With its eye-catching design, accessible value level, and flavour profile constructed for versatility, The Nite Owl is reimagining what a blended scotch could be.
We caught up with Chris Leggat, Founder and Director of Distilled Drinks, to speak about constructing a whisky model for contemporary drinkers, balancing creativity with high quality, and why they’ve gone all-in on creating a brand new staple slightly than chasing the limited-edition pattern.
What Is The Nite Owl?
The Nite Owl is a blended scotch whisky constructed with bartenders and cocktail tradition in thoughts. A wedding of malt and grain whiskies, it’s designed to carry its personal behind the bar or on the shelf and is equally at residence in a chaser, a highball, or a late-night Outdated Usual.
Created by Distilled Drinks, The Nite Owl was developed in collaboration with whisky consultants, together with grasp blenders and Keepers of the Quaich. The result’s a daring but balanced dram that mixes juicy tropical fruit and citrus with dessert-like notes of honey, vanilla, and toffee apple.
However what actually units it aside is its positioning: slightly than leaning into custom or exclusivity, The Nite Owl embraces nightlife, modern design, and cultural accessibility. Priced at £22 RRP and crafted with consistency in thoughts, this can be a spirit that invitations repeat pours and artistic serves. Its catchy tagline is: When nightfall falls, the Nite Owl calls.
Chris Leggat, Founder and Director of Distilled Drinks, the corporate behind The Nite Owl, informed us extra concerning the ethos of the model and why The Nite Owl is the proper whisky for a brand new era of drinkers. See the complete Q&A beneath.
1. The Nite Owl is a placing title. What’s the story behind it, and the way does it form the id of the model?
For us, the title evokes a way of thriller and character — very like the whisky itself. It’s for many who admire depth, discover inspiration after darkish, and aren’t afraid to face aside. That spirit of individuality and nocturnal attraction is woven into the whole lot we do, from our branding to the whisky within the bottle.
Whisky doesn’t must be the ultimate drink of the night time — it’s no matter approach turns your head. This clever outdated spirit is devoted to the night time, the late bars, the hustle, the place the magic of mixology comes alive.
2. You describe The Nite Owl as daring and character-driven. How do you stability sturdy visible storytelling and design with delivering severe high quality within the glass?
Nice query. We spent quite a lot of time with grasp blenders, Keepers of the Quaich, and different consultants to form our dream dram. The objective was to create a Scotch that stayed true to its roots however supplied actual versatility — a personality that might sit comfortably alongside Bourbon and Rum.
As soon as we had the liquid proper, we turned to the inventive facet. Our visible id is daring as a result of we need to problem the conventions of what a whisky model can seem like, and resonate with a brand new clientele in search of an elevated speed-rail providing they really feel assured consuming and sharing.
Our design group had a blast with the method — it pushed our personal considering too. In the end, we needed a incredible product with an approachable model at a smart value.
3. Whereas many new whisky manufacturers deal with restricted runs, you’ve gone the opposite approach. What made you decide to creating one thing regularly accessible from the outset?
We needed to construct one thing lasting — a whisky folks might return to again and again. Restricted editions are thrilling, however they will really feel unique or fleeting. The Nite Owl is about accessibility with out compromise.
We got down to create a signature expression that might turn out to be a part of folks’s routines, rituals, and celebrations — not only a one-off expertise. That meant investing in consistency, high quality, and availability from day one.
4. You’re clearly aiming to attach with a brand new era of whisky drinkers. What are you doing in another way to have interaction this viewers, and what kind of response are you seeing to this point?
We’re talking to a era that values authenticity, creativity, and expertise. Which means assembly them the place they’re — on-line, in tradition, and in dialog. We’ve centered on storytelling, design, and community-building slightly than the standard whisky route.
The response has been extremely encouraging — individuals are resonating with the model, not simply the whisky. They’re sharing it, gifting it, and making it a part of their very own tales, which is strictly what we hoped for.
This summer season, Antonia from our group is launching The Nite Owl Scholar Ambassador Programme throughout the UK — they’ll assist information our future too… now we have solely simply taken flight with The Nite Owl and we don’t need to rush issues, however we’re excited concerning the future.
Purchase The Nite Owl Whisky
The Nite Owl Blended Scotch Whisky is broadly accessible via UK retailers similar to Grasp of Malt, Malt of the Month, and Billingtons of Lenzie.
For extra updates, comply with @niteowlwhisky on Instagram.
