Mr Laing was speaking as Scotch whisky distillers look to establish new international openings amid a period of significant upheaval for the industry which has seen sales come under pressure in key export markets such as the US and China.
Commenting after visiting Mumbai to exhibit Hunter Laing’s whiskies at ProWein, a major international drinks fair, and “get a feel for the market”, Mr Laing told The Herald: “It does seem to be an exciting market. There’s a lot of interest there. There’s already quite a lot of understanding there of Scotch whisky and good quality Scotch whisky.
“It will take a few years, I believe, for smaller companies like us to benefit meaningfully as the market opens up, because there are still quite a lot of regulatory hurdles which, for smaller companies, take a bit of time to navigate. We don’t have an office there, for example, which means that we’re running everything out of our Glasgow base.
“But as the market develops and becomes more open to our types of niche single malts, then it will be very exciting, definitely, for the future.”
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Scotch whisky exports to India were worth £286 million in 2025, up 15% on the year before. The market has come to assume increasing importance to distillers as the industry continues to be buffeted by macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds, denting sales in key export markets. Trump tariffs are continuing to hinder exports to the US and there is new concern over energy costs following the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East, which has caused oil and gas prices to soar.
The Scotch Whisky Association has also been critical of the UK Government for continuing to increase spirits duty, arguing that recent hikes have hit sales of Scotch in its home market.
Commenting on general trading conditions, Mr Laing said: “I think it’s definitely the case that it’s been a challenging couple of years. I think it’s a combination of factors due ultimately to less disposable income coming off the boom after the Covid period, which was generally quite good for Scotch whisky at the time. So we’re coming off that boom. So yes, there have definitely been challenges in markets for us. There have been overstocking situations with some of our markets.
“I can’t point to one particular market which is doing particularly badly, but particularly in terms of high-end or high-age whiskies, the market’s clearly softened in the last couple of years.”
Asked how Hunter Laing has responded to the challenging conditions, Mr Laing noted: “We’re quite fortunate in that we’ve got great distributors and customers around the world, some of whom we’ve had relationships with through my father for decades. And so we work closely with them to tailor our offering to what the market wants.
“Some of our lower age statement products have increased considerably in sales and we’re certainly seeing there’s still a demand for what we’re offering. It’s just changing depending on the market, depending on the customer. We’re keeping busy and there’s a lot of interest in the historical Hunter Laing brands and very much with the new Ardnahoe bottlings that we’ve released over the last 18 months.”
The family behind Hunter Laing have been connected to the whisky industry for more than three generations. Chairman Stewart Laing founded the firm with sons Andrew and Scott in 2013, after Douglas Laing & Co, the family business – including brands and assets – he had run with brother Fred for more than 40 years was split in two as part of succession planning.
Hunter Laing, which exports to around 70 markets, took brands such as Old Malt Cask, Old & Rare, and Sovereign and a bottling operation in East Kilbride. It went on to acquire and expand a cask maturation warehouse in the South Lanarkshire town in 2014 before investing £12m to build its first distillery by Loch Ardnahoe on the north-east of Islay. Work on the distillery began in January 2017 and, after the first spirit was produced in October 2018, the first Ardnahoe single malt was released in the spring of 2024.
“That was really a big success,” Mr Laing said when asked to comment on the response to the single malt.
“There was a lot of interest in the newest distillery from the famous island of Islay. We spent a lot of time to get the first release right. Essentially we took the view that there’s only one opportunity to make a first impression. And so when that came out, that really got us off to a good start, and over the last 18 months since then, we’ve been delighted with how the subsequent bottlings have gone.
Mr Laing said Ardnahoe’s core expressions of Infinite Loch, Bholsa, and the cask strength five year old will “make up the backbone of what we will be offering for the next few years”.
“And the reaction has been very, very encouraging and we’ve got a lot of interesting whiskies laid down in the Ardnahoe warehouses,” he added. “For the next 10, 20 years there’s going to be a lot of interesting things coming down the line.”
Mr Laing said: “The oldest whisky we have in our warehouse from Ardnahoe is only seven years old, but it’s already remarkably mature. It’s incorporating the classic Islay profile that we’re looking for – the lovely maritime smokiness along with a fruitiness, a complexity – and we’re very happy with how it’s maturing.”
The most recent accounts for Hunter Laing show that the company reported that underlying profits fell to £4.88 million in the year to April 30, down from £9.24m the year before. That came as turnover dropped to £13.62m from £17.88m.
“The board were satisfied with this result, which reflects the dedication and commitment of all our staff and the valued support of everyone in our supply chain,” Mr Laing wrote in the accounts. “While the global whisky industry has experienced a slowdown relative to recent highly buoyant years, the company has been partially protected from this by virtue of its exceptional stocks of mature malt whisky and established brands.
“The highly anticipated release of the inaugural Islay single malt from Ardnahoe Distillery in May 2024, swiftly followed by the core range Infinite Loch and Ardnahoe Society cask-strength bottling were received with significant enthusiasm and award.
“Our brands of small-batch and single cask bottlings continued to sell well throughout our key markets, and our ambitious wood programme has allowed the company to maintain its position and reputation in the premium whisky segment. We continue to expand into new markets as well as developing new routes to market in territories where we have been active for some years.”
Scott Laing was this week inducted into the Keepers of the Quaich, an exclusive society which recognises people who have made an outstanding contribution to the Scotch whisky industry.
