Independent Retailers - Dunkeld Whisky Box

Are We Being Served?

Welcome to the first entry in an ad-hoc, ill-informed and rambling series on independent whisky shops across Scotland and further afield.

Our independent whisky shops are often a refuge and community centre for whisky drinkers. Each outlet is engaged in the art of selling whisky to make ends meet and somehow, almost accidentally, offer us much more than just a bottle to tuck underarm and close the door behind us on the way out. These environments have an identity, style and existence of their own; formed by the owners, team and individuals who step over their threshold.

Such retailers needed our support during these times and should be celebrated. Some have embraced the online world during lockdown and stepped-up local deliveries for nearby patrons. This series is a nod towards the well-known, lesser-known and newbies on the scene. An unforeseen guide to some destinations that are well worth your time if you’re in the neighbourhood and fancy a little retail therapy.

For our debut, it would have been so easy to court one of the more prominent names in the retail sector. Thinking outside of the box (see what I did there?) we’re heading north on the A9, to a relatively new, small and perfectly formed whisky shop that had the audacity to open its doors just prior to the pandemic. Sidestepping Perth, we hit a new stretch of dual carriageway on Scotland’s largest and continuous motorway upgrade. We’re flying at speeds previously unseen along this stretch of road, thanks to the default HGV lorry, caravan or Dacia Logan maintaining a steady 50mph for ultimate fuel efficiency. After 15 miles or so, at one of the more hazardous turnoffs, we pitch right and head into a forest to be greeted by the picturesque village of Dunkeld.

Technically, yes, it might be a town nowadays, but it retains a classical village feel and atmosphere, assisted by the motorway being out of sight and earshot. It’s location on the banks of the River Tay has ensured passing traffic throughout the centuries. Boosted by the presence of a cathedral which today offers plenty of Instagram unopened bottle photo opportunities. Weary travellers would have taken in hospitality after navigating the Highlands, or in preparation of such an arduous journey. Today, the area is extremely popular with tourists, offering all manner of walks, sights, monuments and refreshments.

At the heart of Dunkeld is its High Street that harks back to a bygone era lacking staples such as major chains and dayglo branding that dominates most of our own high streets. The usual assortment of betting shops, fast food chains, mobile phone salesmen and charity shops are distinctly missing as we walk towards the Dunkeld Whisky Box. Instead, in their place, are local businesses and producers offering a wealth of quality goods and refreshments. A shopping offering that meets immediate approval and ensures revenues remain within the area; something to support.

Just off the main street is an essential ingredient of any successful shopping experience aka a whisky shop. As much as I wanted an excuse to drive back to Dunkeld, in this socially distanced era, I chatted online to Will about the shop and whisky in general.  

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Thanks for agreeing to answer some questions, so we should start at the beginning and why open a whisky shop and why in Dunkeld?

Thanks for the opportunity to tell you more about our wee shop. I used to run a whisky tour company and had a dream of opening a whisky shop where people could come and have a blether, enjoy a dram and get as much, or as little, help as they wanted. I wanted a shop that offered the things I valued in my favourite whisky experiences I visited - somewhere that would offer a relaxed environment and champion the fact that whisky is for everyone (over 18 of course), regardless of gender, budget and experience. I wanted a shop that offers the same welcome and level of service regardless of whether you’re a first-time whisky drinker or a full-on whisky geek.

In December 2015 we moved from Edinburgh to Dunkeld and in 2017 I moved away from the tour business. After some time off and some consultancy work, I was trying to work out what to do next. I wanted to stay involved in whisky and/or tourism, but couldn't decide what I wanted to do.  The stars seemed to align and a small shop became available in the village. After a lot of deliberation - involving a fair few drams - my wife Helen and I decided to try and make the dream a reality and open a whisky shop. We knew if we didn’t go for it, we would spend the rest of our lives wondering, “What if…” or, even worse, someone else would do it!

The Dunkeld high street is like stepping back in time (in a good way) with local retailers and a lack of chains. How difficult was it to find premises, or just good luck?

It was a stroke of luck really. We were not actively looking for premises as the idea of the shop was only a dream at that stage. When we saw the property for sale, this sparked us into action and it’s only then that we decided to try and make the dream a reality. We moved pretty quickly as we knew there would be plenty of other interest.

What was the prior background of the team?

To start with, it was just myself and Helen. Alan joined us part-time mid-way through 2021 as well.

I had worked in the tour, and latterly whisky tour industry for more than a decade and that had been my gateway into whisky geekery. Helen hasn’t been involved in the industry before, but brings a lot of other skills - she worked in various sustainability and community engagement areas within local authorities for years, and then worked as a freelancer on community projects after we moved. Since starting the shop, Helen’s whisky knowledge has grown hugely and her nose and palate are, frustratingly, much better than mine.

Alan joined us having taken early retirement from a career in social work. He was already a customer of ours and had good knowledge and appreciation of whisky and the industry in general. He was looking for a part-time role in something completely different to the job he had left behind. We feel really lucky to have found him, and he hit the ground running with us in summer 2021.

I know Pitlochry (further up the A9, if you’re not familiar with the area) has quite a few whisky shops; arguably with a more touristy feel to them. Your shop, while in a busy tourist area seems more like a traditional whisky shop with good prices. Was having a shop a long-term ambition and fill a void in the community?

It was a long-term ambition, but I don’t think we thought of it as filling a void in any way. We identified the fact that there are whisky shops in Pitlochry and Perth but they require a 25-mile round trip to visit from Birnam and Dunkeld. We also realised that residents of other parts of Perthshire often do their shopping in Dunkeld, or come to the area for walks and other outdoor pursuits, so we knew there would be enough people that would be able to call us their local whisky shop. On top of that, there are plenty of visitors to Dunkeld that don’t stop in Perth or Pitlochry on their way north or south.

We were very conscious from the start that we didn’t want to be a whisky shop just for tourists. We wanted to be a shop that offered good quality products and service to both locals and tourists alike. We aim to ensure that all of our prices are fair and we don’t stock products that are aimed exclusively at the tourist market.

Perth is just 15 miles away and has a rich whisky history, yet the whole area now seems overlooked. How has the local support been since you started?

The local support has been fantastic. We have regular customers from all over Perthshire, including Perth itself, and that has been a really great part of setting up our venture. We get a lot of customers that come in as we have been recommended by someone else, and this is a brilliant feeling as it shows we are doing something right. We also have great relationships with some of the producers and wholesalers who are based in Perthshire.

From a practical stance, once you had the license approved, it was time to transform the premises – it looked like it needed a bit of TLC?

Yes, the shop needed a complete facelift and refit. Because it’s so small, we wanted to make the most of the space and ensure it had a welcoming, bright and modern feel to it. As the space is so limited, we decided that bespoke shelving and seating would be the best option. We did as much of the work as we could ourselves, in order to keep the costs down, but used a local joinery company that did the main body of the work. They were really patient and helpful and they did a great job.

You opened your doors in October 2019, great timing! How have the last couple of years with the pandemic affected or changed your business?

We had been open for less than five months before Covid so we were still finding our feet. We still have no idea what a ‘normal’ year of trading looks like. Because we weren't established, I guess it made it easier in some ways to adapt quickly. The pandemic took away the tourism spend we were expecting in our first year. However, the local market has been really supportive throughout the pandemic. We are so grateful for that, and the continued support.

When we were initially told we could remain open as an ‘essential service’ we soon realised that the footfall was still non-existent in Dunkeld. So, we started to offer free local deliveries. This was slow to start but, after word spread, we found ourselves driving and cycling about 100 miles a week through the local area delivering booze (and any other shopping people wanted picked up as well). It’s amazing to see those delivery customers now become regulars in the shop itself.

We also started to offer online tastings via Zoom. We didn’t think it would take off but, although demand has waned as restrictions have eased, this is still part of our current business model. We deliberately stayed away from fully branded tastings, hosted by ambassadors and salespeople, and concentrated on our own brand and style instead. We ended up hosting tastings for people all over the UK (and even one in Mexico) and, if it hadn’t been for Covid forcing our hand, I’m not sure we would have been able to have such a wide reach. Many of these tastings have led to repeat customers via online sales or people popping in when they are passing.

That’s interesting you’ve stepped away from the more singular brand tastings we see everywhere. Was this based on personal experience? What would you say is your brand and style, also Mexico? 

We were very aware that, as a new business, it was important to build our own brand and identity. Part of that plan was to offer tastings in the shop itself so, when Covid took away that option, we wanted to recreate the shop experience via the tastings. We thought our own brand would probably take a back seat if we went down the brand ambassador route. We also keep our online tastings to around 10 - 12 guests. This ensures everyone gets a chance to interact, if they want to, and allows for a more personal feel - just like in the shop.

We try to ensure our own tastings are interesting, relaxed, informal and fun. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and we just love sharing good quality drams and chatting with our guests. It’s easy to get hung up on the geekery and tasting notes but, at the end of the day, the most important thing is that people enjoy the dram in their glass.

We had friends going to Mexico to stay with family on an extended trip. They took some of our sample packs with them and then we hosted the tasting via Zoom from sunny Scotland. We made sure they had drams they wouldn't be able to get in Mexico of course.

Has having an online presence been a benefit through this period?

Definitely! We didn’t even have a website when we had to initially close the doors in the early stages of the pandemic. We began building our own the same night and, even though it’s not the best looking or functional creature, it’s been invaluable for us. It has enabled us to get bottles of more unusual whisky to people that were not able to visit us in person, allowed us to offer online tastings, given us the ability to have a click & collect service and facilitate local deliveries too.

I think people are more forgiving of websites that work and maybe don’t have all the bells and whistles of more commercial destinations. There’s something to be said for a more straightforward and honest surfing experience. What would you say is your split in sales with shop versus site?

I completely agree. So long as the site is easy to navigate and payments are secure, I think the design element of it is secondary. The majority of our sales are currently via our physical shop, with around 15% coming from website sales.

Do you keep some bottles deliberately offline to encourage footfall? 

We do keep a proportion of some of our stock just for the shelves. It’s not so much to encourage footfall but more to ensure people can get hold of some of the more unusual and harder to find whiskies that are often snapped up online in a matter of seconds. We like the idea of anyone being able to come in and pick up something like a Springbank 21 or a Daftmill off the shelf and have a blether about it - this means that sometimes the most sought-after bottles can end up being bought by someone who has never even heard of it! Of course, this means that we do get regulars who like to pop in to see what there is too. We love the fact that anyone can come in looking for something new to try and we are able to offer them an Ardnamurchan single cask, a Thompson Brother’s bottling or an Aberfeldy in the same breath.

How do you deal with a disappointed customer when you don’t have that Daftmill or Springbank - or have you been fortunate so far?

We’ve been very fortunate so far. Most people understand that we only get a finite number of bottles, which is often only a small number to start with, and that there isn’t enough for everyone. We are always upfront with people that enquire about the harder to find bottles so there is no expectation they will get one.

We often open these limited bottlings and sell them by the dram in our tasting space, or bottle them up as miniatures for people to take away. That way, even if someone can’t get hold of a full bottle, they can still at least get to taste the liquid.

You also do some in-store tastings. Are these popular with the tourists that the area attracts?

Yes, we have a small tasting space in the shop for drop-in drams from our tasting board or more structured tastings in the evenings. The split is around 50/50 with locals and tourists taking us up on these offerings. We try to ensure the drams we have available for tasting are a bit less known or harder to find offerings from smaller companies and independent bottlers too. We like to offer whiskies that neither locals nor visitors are as likely to have tried before. We can do various themes and do tastings paired with chocolate, cheese and other locally sourced goodies.

The shop is small but perfectly formed and cosy. Space comes at a premium but you’ve got a wide range of whiskies. What I appreciated was the more bespoke picks beyond the core offerings that you’d expect to see in a whisky shop, particularly independent releases.

Glad you like our selection! That’s exactly what we are trying to do. We are very aware that we can’t stock everything so we do our best to have a wide range of styles, flavours and prices. Along with a few core products, we try to ensure we have a good rotation of stock as well. This means that there is always something new and interesting for our returning customers.

A lot of the mainstream bottlings are available in many other whisky shops and supermarkets, and we would struggle to compete on price. This is why we don’t stock a large proportion of these. Instead, we prefer to focus on the less common brands, smaller producers, new distilleries, independent bottlers, and other independent brands. We also try to purchase directly where we can. This helps us keep the prices fair and we feel happier doing business directly and supporting smaller companies where possible. 

One of the biggest compliments we get is when someone that has been drinking whisky for decades comes and says they don’t recognise most of the names on the shelves. It’s fantastic to then find out what they like and be able to offer them something new to try. The most important thing for us is we are happy to stock the brand and completely confident in selling it.

What whiskies have surprised you in terms of popularity since opening your doors?

I hadn’t realised just how many bottles of ‘local whisky’ we would sell, especially to visitors to the area. For us, that means plenty of Aberfeldy and Edradour / Ballechin (across the range) especially.

We’re seeing an explosion in bottles and bottlers – what’s your process to decide which ones to sell?

We try to stock brands and companies that we like, get on well with and have good reputations. Ideally, ones where we buy direct or from smaller, specialist wholesalers.  If we can taste the liquid to help us decide, that certainly helps but is not always possible.  We understand that everyone has different tastes but we ensure that everything we stock is a quality product that we are happy and confident to sell. We would be happy to purchase any of the things we stock ourselves.

Are there any distilleries you struggle to stock? I’m presuming you can never get enough from Springbank to keep everyone happy?

There certainly are. As a relatively new, small business, we don’t have much in the way of buying power. Some producers only supply stock on allocation and sometimes we can only get hold of one or two bottles of some things. We certainly don’t expect or feel entitled to be able to get hold of everything we want but, when we do, we (and most importantly our customers) really appreciate it. The demand for some bottles outstrips our supply substantially, so it’s just not possible for us to get enough bottles for everyone that would like one. There are plenty of other drams out there so we’re always happy to recommend something else.

What’s been the biggest hurdle and surprise that you’ve encountered since opening?

The whole process has been a pretty steep learning curve, to be honest. Neither Helen nor myself have a background in retail so have had to learn as we go. At times we have overstocked for the quieter periods and then understocked when it’s been really busy. We have stocked whiskies that, with hindsight, were not the right products for our shop and at other times should have ordered more of things that flew off the shelves.

The biggest surprise is still how excited we get about whisky, despite thinking and talking about it pretty much 24/7! We go through stock lists together to get a good balance of stock, and it’s always great when we see some really interesting bottles being released.

 

The main focus of the shop is whisky but you to stock beers, ciders and spirits including some of the rums and Armagnac’s from independent bottlers. Is this something you’re looking to expand on?

The initial plan was only to stock whisky and a small selection of craft beers and ciders. The beer and cider offering grew first as people were coming in and asking for specific breweries. If we could source them, we would and things have grown from there. Craft beers proved especially popular with our lockdown deliveries, so we’ve kept a good range in since then

The same is true of other spirits. People ask us for certain gins, rums, liqueurs etc and if we can get hold of them, we are happy to stock them. We try to find a balance between still having a focus on whisky but expanding our range of other drinks based on the same model as the whisky (i.e., the smaller, less mainstream products on the market that are of good quality and we like).  We are constantly learning more about these other drinks and, as our knowledge expands, so will our range.

Value seems to be a growing feature among whisky enthusiasts, have you seen a change in buying behaviours during these last couple of years?

Value for money is a term that is used a lot in our shop. The perceived value of a product varies so much between people based on their whisky journey so far, personal taste, budget and other factors. We have definitely seen people happy to spend a bit more on products that offer a higher value in terms of things like rarity, transparency of information, provenance and quality. Of course, you don’t have to spend megabucks to get something that you’ll really enjoy. When the pubs were shut, we did notice people were often happier to spend a bit more money than they usually would on a product that they would drink and savour at home. I think the value of supporting smaller, independent retailers are what some customers take into account as well. They might be able to find a certain product a wee bit cheaper on a big companies’ website but they see the value of coming in, having a chat and asking for advice before purchasing it from small businesses such as ourselves.

Are you staying away from big-ticket whiskies? Do you think the value end of the market is now under £60?

We try to ensure we have whiskies that cover a range of budgets. Our current range starts at £20 and goes up from there, so you can pretty much spend what you want! We do have a few big-ticket items but don’t hold too many as we don’t want customers to be hit with lots of big price tags when they come in, as that can feel a bit intimidating. A big part of our market is repeat customers, and we have far more people who buy mid-range whiskies regularly than we do the odd person buying a really expensive one.

Are there any other trends you’re seeing from whisky consumers?

More and more people seem to be asking us for cask strength, higher ABVs, and non-chill filtered whiskies. That said though, we still have a lot of customers that want the 40% ABV bottlings.

The biggest thing we see is people asking for more information about their whiskies. More and more customers want as much transparency as possible when making their purchases. Things like added colour, chill filtration, ownership, batch size and even barley type are things we get asked about.

As we’re talking, you’re in the middle of your January break, what plans and hopes do you have for 2022?

We are in the process of building a new website for launch in February. This will, hopefully, offer our customers a better experience than our current one. We’re going to set up a couple of online tastings, and we are really looking forward to hosting some more in-person tastings for larger groups as well.

We are going to be stocking a few new brands for us this year too, so really looking forward to getting these on our shelves in the next month or so.

I have just completed my WSET Level 2 in Spirits so looking to build on this and look for new and interesting non-whisky spirits to stock.

My thanks once again to Will for this time and the photographs. Hopefully, if you’re passing Dunkeld, you’ll take the opportunity to enjoy a wee detour and see what the shop has to offer.

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