James Eadie (1827-1904) was a Scottish brewer who founded a major brewery in 1854. Born near Gleneagles in Scotland into a family of 14 children, he left school at the age of fourteen to earn a living.
Reported in local newspapers as a self-made man, Mr. Eadie was a quiet individual whose hard work and indomitable perseverance allowed him and his family to live well.
Aside from the beer, the Eadie family had their own recipe for a Blended Scotch whisky. Only a few bottles of James Eadie's original whiskey remain. As far as we know, they are all in the hands of the family.
The Scottish British whisky and beer critic of the time, Alfred Barnard, visited the Eadie Brewery and wrote about his findings in his famous book, "Famous Breweries of Great Britain and Ireland," (Volume 2, 1889).
Barnard reveals how Mr. James Eadie had inherited, from his father, a recipe for a Scotch whisky blend that he describes as "an ancient Scottish blend that was dispensed to a privileged few." In fact, the whisky was distributed quite widely, being available in over 300 of the James Eadie pubs.
Today:
Rupert Patrick (CEO of James Eadie and president of WhiskyInvestDirect) is a great-grandson of James Eadie.
In 1991, after three years in the wine trade, he moved to Edinburgh to become Export Manager for an independent Scotch whisky company.
He worked for Macleod Distillers for fourteen years before moving to Beam Suntory (Laphroaig, Teacher's, Jim Beam, Maker's Mark) and then to Diageo where he was Commercial Director for Africa, managing Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky and Guinness.
Rupert is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Distillers. He is a keeper of the Quaich and has extensive knowledge of the Scotch whisky industry.
