With over 20 years of experience in the whisky industry, what parallels do you see between whisky and fragrance making?

There are so many parallels with whisky and fragrance! For example, the hunt for the finest ingredients, refined distillation processes, non-chill filtering – but most the powerful parallel for me is the aromatic reveal. Kingdom Scotland fragrances are inspired by the complex reveal of a fine and rare whisky. Whisky masterfully delivers a ‘sense-of-place’ in the nose and taste profile, I set out to create that aromatic magic in the Kingdom Scotland scents.

How did your experience in the whisky industry lead you to launch Kingdom Scotland?

Spending nearly 20 years in the world of fine wines and spirits developed my olfactory skills and language. Smell is thought to be 80% responsible for taste -so is an incredibly important part of experiencing a fine spirit. The language we use in drinks is slightly different to the realm of perfumery but there are many cross overs. For example, if you look at a whisky flavour/nosing wheel compared to that of a perfumery note wheel – showing the classic fragrance families – you will see an incredible amount of cross over. Whilst in the whisky world – I tasked the UK Vogue beauty and fragrance editor at the time – Anna-Marie Solowij - to have a Master nosing and tasting session with our Director of Whisky Creation – she then wrote the most incredible nosing and tasting notes that we used across the world. I so thank her for this as it really inspired me – and then after working at LVMH I decided to launch myself into the world of entrepreneurialism in perfume and develop Scotland’s First Fragrance House.

Which scent profiles and fragrance creation possibilities does whisky introduce to perfumery?

It is not so much that whisky introduces perfumery notes – it is that it reveals with complexity of the notes that many of use in the perfume industry work with every day. Classic notes such as vanilla, honey, ginger, dried fruits, citrus and smoky notes are all regularly detected in whiskies – and the woods! They say 80% of the nose and taste in whisky is influenced by wood – the barrel the whisky is matured in, so wood notes are hugely prevalent in the world of whisky. Wood notes such as sandalwood, cedar, birch, amber resins, even oud are notes I detect in a fine whisky reveal.

Can you tell us more about how whisky and various malts appear and inspire the range of Kingdom Scotland fragrances?

The whisky notes are most notable in Kingdom’s Metamorphic fragrance. This is storytelling in scent – the story of the creation of Metamorphic rock. Metamorphic rock is woven through the spectacular landscape of Scotland, and Scotland has the most complex geology in the world. Metamorphic rock is the most complex, created under intense heat and pressure. This fragrance is smouldering and spicey, with a big dose of black pepper and spices in its opening, it then reveals to what can be described as an Islay peated malt heart, with earth, peat, minerals, tobacco, and charred woods. The Metamorphic rock is very prevalent on the West Coast of Scotland and you can even find boulders of it on the beaches of the west coast islands – for example, Lewis, Harris and Islay. Islay is the home of the peated malt whisky – I had to create a nod to my love of this in this scent. Some people call it like experiencing a ‘fine malt by the fire in an ancient stone castle’. This is such an evocative and addictive perfume and many visitors to Scotland buy this as a memory to cherish from their travels.

In addition – there is an interesting nod to whisky within the Kingdom Scotland Portal fragrance. This scent is inspired by a Caledonian forest in Spring. It is herbaceous, verdant and has a beautiful woody reveal. The heart of the fragrance interestingly has a ‘new make spirit’ accord. This is estery and verdantly yet delicately floral. New Make Spirit is the clear high-proof alcoholic liquid that come off the still during spirit production, it is characteristically has a ester like quality, green apples, hard pears and often a light floral aspect. An innovative and interesting addition to Portal for those ‘in the know’ in the drinks world.

How do you believe your trained nose and palate in the whisky industry merge to enhance scent creation and fragrance evaluation?

My nose was trained in the drinks industry – first with wine and then fine spirits. I started my whisky career on a blending course with Master Distiller Colin Scott at the Strathisla distillery – the heart and soul of the Chivas portfolio. It was an incredible introduction to the production of whisky and the powerful smells associated with the malting and fermentation processes – and then the selection of barrels which has a strong impact on the resulting nose and taste of a whisky. I was then selected on the evaluation and tasting panels of several whisky companies – this introduced me to the whisky nose and flavour wheel and how to detect classic notes in whisky such as vanilla, citrus, florals, nuttiness, caramel, honey, rich dried fruits, spices, and a whole array of woods. Then onto the more creative scent memories that whisky can evoke – such as Christmas, lounging by a fire, cake baking and patisserie, salty seas, and even industrial oily notes. Whisky has a very strong sense of place – and the creativity of nose reveal was instilled in me from working with companies such as the SMWS – Scotch Malt Whisky Society – whose infamous creative nosing and tasting notes are enjoyed by a global audience. The experience was a great training for the fragrance industry and it was an innovative way to start telling stories in perfumery.

How can an education and expertise in whisky tasting complement fragrance education for fragrance or whisky enthusiasts? What benefits can whisky tasting training bring to enjoying and learning about fragrance?

The whole world of whisky from selection of ingredients, wood barrels for maturation, to production and resulting whisky is a great training ground for perfumery. Opening my mind to my unique olfactory experience and my scent memories was a good solid starting place to build on and learn about specific ingredients and notes in the perfume industry.

As a member of OurWhisky Foundation, how are women leading the way in both the whisky and fragrance industries?

It has long been understood in the drinks industry that women have an edge with their more powerful olfactory skills. I think confidence in this skill is one influence in the growing number of women working and entering work in whisky. Prestigious distilleries, of world reknown such as The Macallan and Glenmorangie now have female master distilleries creating their whisky.

It is fantastic that more and more women are entering and excelling within the whisky industry. Being part of the OurWhisky foundation and their mentoring programme has been a great support. I have also met such interesting and passionate women from all over the world. We share experiences, ideas, opportunities, events and support each other in our wide and varied journeys within the whisky industry.

How do you envision these industries merging and collaborating with each other in the future?

There have always been parallels between the industries of whisky and perfume and this is being recognised more and more. I think Kingdom Scotland is quite unique being inspired from a long career in whisky, but there are other brands who are inspired by the world of fine wine and spirits. For example, Killian Hennessy coming from the long dynasty of Hennessy Cognac and recently Givenchy launched a male specific collection inspired by the world of spirits. I would love to see more collaboration and connection and would love to get more involved with it!

How do you foresee the evolution of Scottish perfumery, particularly in relation to the global appreciation for whisky culture?

Scotland is a hot bed of creativity and invention and it always had been. I feel so proud of my Scottish heritage and to call it my home. It is also country of contradictions with such a dramatic,untamed, wild landscape that makes you feel truly alive, but also with an ancient tradition of respecting and encouraging an intelligent and thoughtful approach. It is Scotland who gave birth to so many inventions and creations that have changed the world – from electricity, to magnetism, to political and economic theory, to modern geological principles right through to cloning and excelling in the digital gaming landscape. With this backdrop of innovation – anything is possible for perfumery and scent appreciation!

I am so proud to have a partnership with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and working with their botanists and horticulturalists is a huge pleasure. They are at the forefront of global biodiversity science and research in the face of climate change – and as Kingdom Scotland is all about celebrating the drama and beauty of the natural world it make utter sense to donate profits to wards this vital cause.

Edinburgh, in particular, seems to be on the world map this year in terms of style, culture, events. Dior are soon to reveal a unique collection here with a launch in June, Chanel have bought a Georgian Townhouse for launch collections in beauty and fashion and this year celebrates 900 of Edinburgh as a city with many high-profile celebrations with world influencers.

Scotch Whisky is loved the world over, with ever increasing numbers of passionate collectors and experts. It is very much part of Scottish culture and such a fun and vibrant industry to be involved with. I find global interest in Kingdom Scotland with its roots firmly in the world of whisky. This interest comes from whisky connoisseurs who want to explore a different facet of scent language and reveal, and also with those who love perfume but know little about whisky – it excites both worlds.