The Rarest of Them All
The following is an extract from my article on Justerini & Brooks, written for The Rake. Read it in full here.
There are very few establishments that can boast having a heritage that spans comfortably over 270 years. Even better than that they have supplied every British Monarch since King George III, in 1761, with fine wines and whisky. It is probably safe to say that Justerini & Brooks might know a thing or two about quality libations, much to our pleasure. The merchant’s relationship with whisky in particular stretches significantly over a century, with their pride and joy being J&B Rare — a blended whisky made from some of the finest single malts and grains from distilleries including Knockando. Smoother and more palatable than most accessible whiskies in that period of time, J&B Rare became something of a staple for English gentry and their cousins across the pond post-Prohibition in the 20th Century.
Another factor that made J&B Rare such an enormous success was their unparalleled access to some of the best distilleries in Scotland. The relationships maintained with said distilleries — twenty-eight of them — is the backbone of what makes Justerini & Brooks a truly unrivalled merchant. “We’re 272-years-old and still operate on a relationship-based business model,” says Tod Bradbury, Justerini & Brooks’ Head of Rare & Collectable Whiskies. “We always go to the client, similarly to a tailor during international trunk shows”. Tod’s immediate nod to the parallels of tailoring and whisky simply reaffirmed my belief that this was going to be one of my favourite interviews yet.