Independent Scotch whisky bottler Saltire Rare Malt has made its largest investment in people to date, appointing five experienced spirits professionals across North America and Asia Pacific. The new hires are Gary Clark as National Sales Manager for the USA, Jared Card and George B. Summer as Brand Ambassadors for the Mid-Atlantic and New York respectively, Laura Sol as Business Development Manager, and Kotaro Kurihara as Product Marketing Specialist for Asia Pacific.
Experienced Leadership Clark brings nearly four decades of experience in hospitality, wholesale distribution, and premium spirits. Born in Edinburgh and raised in Texas, he holds multiple WSET qualifications and has authored publications on Japanese whisky and American whiskey. Card and Summer together bring more than 45 years of combined experience across supplier, distributor, retail, and hospitality roles. Card is known for whisky education and trade tastings throughout the Mid-Atlantic, while Summer founded Guided by the Spirits and has developed premium spirits brands through trade education and luxury consumer experiences. Sol brings expertise in brand strategy and business development, while Kurihara, fluent in English and Japanese, will support sales and marketing across Japan, China, Taiwan, and South Korea.
Two-Year Trajectory Saltire Rare Malt launched in 2024 from its base in Falkland, Fife.
Co-founders Nigel Heywood and Keith Rennie, who have collected fine and rare single malts over three decades, partnered with internationally acclaimed whisky experts Hans and Becky Offringa—known as The Whisky Couple—to curate limited-edition and single cask bottlings. Keith Rennie said: "From day one, our ambition has been to build an international Scotch whisky company while staying true to Scotland's whisky heritage. Just over two years on, we're proud to see our bottlings enjoyed by collectors around the world, but we believe the best is still to come." "Gary, Jared, George, Laura and Kotaro each bring exceptional knowledge, experience and relationships to Saltire Rare Malt. This investment gives us the platform to accelerate our global ambitions, strengthen partnerships and take our whiskies to even more whisky lovers, collectors and trade partners around the world." Saltire's bottlings are currently distributed across Europe, North America, Asia, and South Africa.
Why It Matters
The hires signal aggressive growth strategy in the competitive independent bottler segment, where building regional distribution and trade relationships is critical to market penetration. The emphasis on experienced whisky educators and distributor relationships suggests Saltire is prioritizing on-premise and specialty retail channels over mass-market expansion.
For more insights and trends in the food and beverage sector, check out more articles in The Food & Beverage Magazine family of publications.
Written by FBM Publications Editors
