Achi news desk-
“He’s our star musician, and we’re now working with Warner Music, MTV, and Abbey Road. Our plan is to be true Scottish whiskey rock and roll, and we want to get local bands or artists in Asia and America.”
Distilled and distributed by Loch Lomond Group, Wolfie’s is currently on track to sell 200,000 bottles in its first full year of trading and is available in 23 markets worldwide, nearly trebling the initial character of eight. The whiskey has appeared in cocktails at prestigious venues such as The Ritz London, Caesars Palace Las Vegas, and NOBU Tokyo.
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Mr Frew has worked in the drinks industry for over 20 years, having started a mobile cocktail bar hire service aged 19 while studying marketing and business law at Strathclyde University. That operation grew into Badaboom, a drinks marketing agency bought by C&C Group in 2017.
As part of the agreement, Mr Frew was appointed to the position of commercial marketing director at C&C. He says he learned a great deal during his time there but is ready to move on after the three-year gains on the Badaboom acquisition expire.
“It was a culture changer for me,” he said. “I learned about big business and working within a PLC and presenting to boards and all that stuff, which was very different to my marketing company.
“I learned a whole bucket load but for me, I’m not fit to work for someone else. I enjoyed the experience but – and it wasn’t C&C, it could have been any company – being an employee of a business didn’t really apply to me. I’d rather be the boss.”
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He helped create Jack and Victor blended whiskey – also made by Loch Lomond – after a chance meeting with Still Game actor Greg Hemphill in 2020. Mr Frew is still involved, and suggests there is material A fresh Jack and Victor on the horizon should give the brand a further boost.
Around the time he launched Jack and Victor whiskey in 2021, a mutual friend introduced Mr Frew to Rod Stewart. After bonding over a common love of Celtic football they spent a night at Mr Frew’s pub, the Dirty Duchess in west Glasgow, where they worked their way through the whiskey menu.
“We got seriously drunk one night, I’m afraid, and Rod was telling me about The Faces and those halcyon days of mid-70s rock and roll, and how much fun he had,” said Mr Frew, and from there the idea for Wolfie’s was born.
“I remember saying to Rod, I wanted him to embody him and other rock stars of that era, and the thing with Rod is that he’s a bit of a rascal – he’s a gentleman.
“It’s funny, but if a woman comes back from the bathroom during dinner he’ll stand up straight away – he’s got excellent manners. But at the same time he will be happy to unscrew the top of the salt shaker before he gives it to me.”
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Wolfie’s was launched after 18 months of preparation and within 72 hours Loch Lomond had been “flooded” with requests from distributors around the world, Mr Frew said.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind,” he added. “Volume is very important to us, of course, but to be honest what’s more important for this year is building the right relationships and making sure the prices are right and making sure people enjoy the brand really, and that we promote it in the right way.”
The plan is to start working with other artists through partnerships or sponsorship from next year.
“We don’t want to create a novelty brand, we want to create a lasting brand,” said Mr Frew.
“As Rod said in a few interviews last year, the ambition is that people still drink this brand and listen to his music when he’s gone. That’s the plan – it’s not smash and grab.”
