Hall of Fame

It was during Andrew’s time working at Prestonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh in the 1980s that he discovered the pleasure of single malt and, in particular, single cask single malt. Prestonfield was one of the grandest venues of its day and he oversaw a great many events hosted by prominent whisky companies.

This interest led to Andrew founding the Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Co Ltd. in 1988 and purchasing his first cask for bottling. By the early 1990s the company had established a solid reputation for releasing superb whiskies and for the release of incredibly rare spirits from closed distilleries such as Ben Wyvis and Glen Flagler.

In 2002, Andrew purchased the Edradour Distillery in Pitlochry from Pernod Ricard and took charge of what was described as Scotland’s smallest distillery. In 2003 he introduced the production of peated spirit at Edradour, which he named ‘Ballechin’ after a long-lost Perthshire farm distillery. In 2007, he relocated Signatory’s operation from Edinburgh to the Edradour site. In 2010 came a new dunnage warehouse complex and in 2017 he completed the construction of Edradour #2 and a racked warehouse complex with a capacity of 20,000 casks.

Today, Andrew’s partner, Annette, runs the visitor centre and he hopes that his two sons, Andrew Jr. (16) and Kristopher (10), will one day join him. Signatory remains one of the world’s most revered independent bottlers, while Edradour Distillery has grown to become a much-loved name in whisky circles and beyond. On account of this success, Andrew is now one of the most well-respected whisky experts and entrepreneurs in the industry.