Irish whiskey alive, alive, oh for Scotch director with new Molly Malone brand

RICHARD Lombard-Chibnall, the global brand director of Lombard Scotch Whisky, has started his own Irish whiskey company called Molly Malone.

Lombard-Chibnall has converted to Irish whiskey after nearly 30 years working at Lombard Scotch Whisky, one of the first independent whisky bottlers owned by his family.

Lombard Scotch Whisky has been involved in the bottling and blending of Scotch for more than 60 years, counting award-winning single malts and blends in its portfolio, including Lombard Gold Label.

Lombard-Chibnall said the experience of working in the whisky trade with the family business had been “invaluable”, but that he was looking forward to working on his own project. “It is incredibly exciting,” he said.

“It’s because of my family that I’ve been able to source this whiskey, so I have everything to thank them for.”

Lombard-Chibnall said the inspiration for starting Molly Malone came following a trip to the US. He noticed the growing popularity of Irish whiskey in the country, with friends in the industry describing it as the “hottest category in brown spirits”. Having met with several contacts, he put a plan in place to develop an Irish whiskey brand separate to his work with Lombard Scotch Whisky.

Lombard-Chibnall was put in touch with several Irish distilleries, which he visited before selecting the malts that would make up the whiskey. He finally settled on the Molly Malone name after hearing Ireland rugby fans singing the ballad during the team’s 40-29 victory over New Zealand in 2016. Hearing the fans in Chicago sing the song made his “hairs stand on end”, he said.

Lombard-Chibnall said he had big plans for the whiskey and wanted Molly Malone to be “a celebration of Ireland”.

He added: “One of my mates said to me after I named the whiskey, ‘when will the window of opportunity finish for Molly Malone?’ It’s not going to; it is always going to be relevant. It is in the DNA of being Irish.”

Molly Malone was first bottled in August this year. Shortly after, Lombard-Chibnall received notice from the Canadian Liquor Control Board of Ontario, one of the world’s largest buyers and retailers of alcohol, that the product would be listed there, with deliveries to begin on St Patrick’s Day next year. He hopes to launch in the US shortly after.

Lombard-Chibnall is also in negotiations with distributors in both Ireland and the UK.

He expects the product to launch here in early 2020, and a 70cl bottle to retail at around€55.