An Inverness man revealed why his city centre whisky shop is focusing on smaller and newer distilleries.
Duncan Ireland opened Inverness Whisky Shop on Market Close last year and has since seen visitors from around the world.
He runs it alongside Matt Macpherson and John Donaldson, who also own The Malt Room, a whisky bar opposite.
Duncan answered our questions on his biggest struggles, achievements and more.
How and why did you start in business?
Inverness Whisky opened in July 2023 following conversations with friends about the opportunity for an independent, specialist whisky retailer in Inverness.
It helped that those friends owned and managed The Malt Room and could attest to consumer interest in buying by the bottle, what the award-winning bar was already selling by the dram.
The shop provided an opportunity to turn a long-standing interest in whisky into a full-time job.
And to engage more fully with Inverness’s active and welcoming whisky community.
How did you get to where you are today?
My path to whisky retailing was somewhat circuitous.
I started in aeronautical engineering as a graduate; then moved into financial services IT.
For around two decades I settled in higher education websites and digital marketing.
Running websites brought me to Inverness to work at the University of the Highlands & Islands (UHI).
The move to a new area meant looking around for the type of interests I’d enjoyed elsewhere, which took me along to whisky tastings.
In turn, that inevitably led to setting foot in The Malt Room when it opened some seven years ago.
Little did I know when asked the question if I’d ever considered working in whisky, where my answer would lead.
Who helped you?
The shop would not be here without business partners Matt and Karen Macpherson and John Donaldson, alongside the extended network of family, friends and suppliers brought together by the Malt Room.
I’ve also recently joined the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) to help support the business.
They’re keeping an eye on potential regulation changes to alcohol marketing and advertising in Scotland, following a government consultation early in 2023.
Tighter restrictions would have a major negative impact on my business.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever had?
You are not your customer.
What is your biggest mistake?
I’m a believer in learning as I go, so I view any mistakes I make as important learning opportunities.
What is your greatest achievement?
It’s not always easy for a smaller, independent shop like ours to secure accounts with some of the larger brands in the whisky world.
Every one of those new relationships put in place feels like a big step forward, allowing us to offer a broader range of whisky to our customers.
How are you managing rapidly rising costs, and how could the government help?
I think it helps that we started the business recently, so the current cost environment was very much part of our planning.
Government assistance around tax would seem to be the most obvious opportunity, especially VAT and duty.
Duty is a huge topic in the whisky industry and the huge rise inflicted on the industry in August 2023 has demonstrably hurt the treasury, whisky makers, retailers and the whisky buying public; a real lose-lose decision.
The Scotch Whisky Association is working hard on the issue with a view to bolstering and improving Scotch’s already strong contribution to the UK economy.
What do you still hope to achieve?
We’re keen to consolidate and build on the business as we begin our second year, adding new suppliers to our shelves and introducing an online shop in due course.
We try to focus on smaller or newer distilleries alongside independent bottlers and with the drams available ever-changing, we very much enjoy seeking out as diverse an offering as we can.
What do you do to relax?
I try to take advantage of Inverness’s enviable location giving access right across the Highlands.
Exploring beaches, lochs and hills as the weather allows and distilleries when it doesn’t.
What are you currently reading, listening to or glued to on TV?
The Umbrella Academy is the go-to series at the moment.
What do you waste your money on?
I’m not sure anyone has money to waste these days… but I will admit to an extensive collection of jackets.
They all have a purpose though “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing”.
What’s the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?
Wake Rosie the cavapoo up. She doesn’t like to be left out of anything and will use her extensive range of vocal talents to let you know.
What do you drive and dream of driving?
The dream drive is an ever-changing goal with the vehicle of choice often changing after a visit to the excellent monthly Inverness Cars and Coffee meet at the Rollerbowl each month.
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