The company
Meadowside Blending was founded in 2011 by Donald Hart and his son Andrew Hart. The family business is based in Glasgow.
Donald Hart is an old hand in the industry. He has been in the whisky business since 1964. He founded Hart Brothers with his brother Iain at the age of 18. The two brothers acted as whisky brokers, buying and selling casks and liaising with the various distilleries. A little later, the Hart Brothers also introduced their own blend. The business was expanded in the 70s. A bottling plant and warehouse were acquired and the company also became a wholesaler and distributor of whisky.
After brother Iain left the company, third brother Alistair was introduced to the family business in 1975. Together with Alistair, Donald began bottling selected single casks. Hart Brothers thus functioned as an independent bottler. The company was sold in 2007. This era was followed by the founding of the Meadowside Blending Company.
Donald's son Andrew Hart became involved in the family business at an early stage. At the end of the 1990s, he lived in Sweden for five years, familiarising himself with the Scandinavian markets, among other things. Andrew is involved in all aspects of the production of The Maltman whisky and works as a brand ambassador for the independent bottler Meadowside. Like his father, he is also a member of the Keeper of the Quaich.
The range
The whiskies from The Maltman series are generally uncoloured and not chill-filtered. Each edition is bottled as a single cask. The bottlings mainly contain rare and old single malts. By 2014, the Harts had created around 60 single cask bottlings. These include well-known distilleries such as Bruichladdich and Arran.
Meadowside Blending also produces its own blend called The Royal Thistle. The thistle is a national symbol for the Scots.
