Corporate gifting is mostly terrible. A branded bottle, a logo on a box, and a recipient who quietly passes it on at Christmas. So a company built around making whisky genuinely personal is worth a look.
There are no tasting notes in this review, and that is deliberate. Tailored Spirits Co. does not sell you a whisky. It builds one to your brief, so the liquid is different for every client and any notes would describe somebody else’s commission. What can be judged is the process, the design and the finished object.
The company launched in January 2024, founded by Adam Harding, who leads spirits, sales and strategy, Carl Johnstone on commercial and operations, and Tom Costello covering brand and creative. It began, improbably, in the back of a plant shop in Leith, where it is still based. The idea addressed a real gap: whisky is produced at commercial scale, but a single cask owner sitting on something rare has little idea what to do with it. Hence the mantra, from the warehouse to your house.
Clients are guided through the whole journey, from sourcing the cask and choosing the liquid style through to designing the label and bottling the result. They work with private collectors, hospitality groups and premium brands, with commissions delivered to Singapore, the United States and across Europe.
But the whisky is only half of it. Bottles are sourced rather than defaulted to, and branding, label design, presentation materials, bespoke glassware and high end packaging all form part of the same commission. The detail work goes further than most gifting suppliers bother with. Closures can be engraved wooden corks carrying your logo, or brass stoppers, which is the part a recipient handles every time they pour, and the reason a bottle like this stays on a desk long after the whisky has gone.
It is an unusually well judged business. The founders have split the work sensibly between liquid, commerce and design, and it shows in what arrives.
The model is a commission rather than a product, which is what makes the company unusual. There is no range to choose from and no stock sitting in a warehouse with your name added to it. Each project starts empty and is built from the cask up, which is why lead times run to months rather than weeks.
So if you have a client to thank, a milestone worth marking, or a room full of people who deserve better than another gift set, it is worth a conversation. Tell them the occasion. They will take it from there.
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