Looking for a special bottle of whisky to give as a gift at your wedding? Look no further than Geraldo’s of Largs, a treasure trove of hand-picked small-batch whiskies.
A Selection of Geraldos Whisky | Image: Ann Cromack of iKat Photography
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As a family-owned and run business, Geraldo’s of Largs has always focused on small-scale, family-run and local producers.
It made sense, then, that as they expanded into the world of whisky and premium spirits, they looked for local producers to stock the shelves.
With a limited license provision in the shop, deciding who gets space is an important job for Managing Director, Toni Dawson, and the team.
“It’s really important that new products are not available in the supermarkets, first and foremost.
I also like to work closely with distilleries and the people behind them so small, independent distilleries where the people are just as important as the whisky are my ideal choice,” says Toni.
One of the first whiskies they sold, and still one of their best-sellers, was from the Isle of Arran Distillery at Lochranza.
They are Geraldo’s most local distillery, and their shared values of championing local, small-scale products make it an ideal fit.
Such is the relationship between Geraldo’s and the Isle of Arran distillery that, to celebrate Geraldo’s 20th anniversary in 2020, they collaborated on an Arran Single Cask 10-year-old whisky, bottled exclusively for the shop.
Only 295 bottles were released from that cask, so it was a truly unique offering.
Exterior of Geraldos | Image: Ann Cromack of iKat Photography
“It is collaborations like these which keep feeding into the main reason why we love working with Geraldo’s – their commitment to providing the best possible shopping experience by real people with a real passion for what they do, attention to detail and genuine kindness,” says global brand ambassador and brand manager for Isle of Arran Distillers, Mariella Romano.
As Geraldo’s reputation as a purveyor of premium local whiskies grew, so did the need for in-store expertise.
In 2017, Toni and Shop Manager Alison became qualified Whisky Ambassadors with The Whisky Ambassador training scheme.
Just a few years later, in July 2020, friend of the shop and whisky connoisseur James Gillies came on board as the official Geraldo’s whisky ambassador.
James Gillies (L) of Geraldos and Malcolm Rennie of Lochlea Distillery
James’ passion for and expert knowledge of whisky has been a key factor in sourcing new producers for the shop. When Lochlea Distillery was seeking out retailers for their inaugural malt in 2022, James was their first port of call.
“When I spoke with James Gillies to see if Geraldo’s would be a good fit for Lochlea, his enthusiasm for the whisky we were making was abundant,” says Patrick Dupuy, business development executive at Lochlea Distilling Co.
“As a young distillery, finding retailers that are as passionate about the project as we are is incredibly important, and so when the time came we were extremely pleased to partner with Geraldo’s as a stockist.”
Team at Isle of Arran Distillery with James MacTaggart
May is Whisky Month, and what better time to visit Geraldo’s of Largs and choose a very special bottle for a very special person!
You can go along to one of the shop’s free in-store whisky tastings held every Saturday, showcasing some of their best-selling products.
You can also learn more about their complete offering of whiskies and hear from in-store experts by visiting the Geraldo’s website.
If you want to be the first to know about new releases and exclusive events, sign up for Geraldo’s whisky newsletter.
