15 Years of The Last Drop: The beginning

The Last Drop was founded by two stalwarts of the spirits industry: Tom Jago – father of our Managing Director, Rebecca Jago – and his great friend, James Espey. The two men – aged 82 and 65 respectively – had an idea: to go to Scotland, talk to their many friends and former colleagues there, and taste everything they were offered until they encountered something they felt would meet their somewhat nebulous criteria: something old but vibrant, and above all, utterly delicious.

At the back of a warehouse in the Lowlands of Scotland, that moment of realisation struck. Three large barrels of a very old Blended Scotch Whisky were lying, undisturbed and, there in that warehouse, they tasted what became our first release. 1,347 bottles of a blend of over 80 different malts and grains, including many from closed distilleries and many much, much older than the 1960 date on the bottle.

They took great pride in putting this remarkable liquid into their first bottling and in presenting it to audiences all over the world. And so The Last Drop found its feet, with what Tom always described as “the best whisky I have ever tasted”. Our first release set the tone for everything The Last Drop has done since: with age and quality as our criteria for selection, this remarkable Blend became the standard-bearer for all that has followed since.

But back to the origins of The Last Drop…

On 29 February 2008, James and Tom decided to ‘officially’ launch their new venture. They gathered some of their closest friends and colleagues together to break bread and share a glass of something very special, on the occasion of the launch of The Last Drop Distillers: a leap into the unknown for these two unlikely entrepreneurs, which fittingly took place on “leap day”.

Hosted at Le Colombier, a perfect gem of a neighbourhood French restaurant in Chelsea, guests were treated to the first taste of The Last Drop’s first release, and introduced to the merry group of friends and family who all contributed to the business in its early days, and gave such support to James and Tom as they set off on the adventure of a lifetime…

It was also the first time that Rebecca was in the same room as James’ daughter Beanie. Although they didn’t actually speak that day, it marked the beginning of a friendship (and partnership) that would eventually see them take the reins of The Last Drop in 2014.