Living Souls Whisky

About Living Souls

Living Souls is one of the youngest names in Scotch independent bottling - and one of the most talked about. Behind the brand stand three people who have spent much of their careers deep in the machine room of the whisky industry: John Torrance, former Operations Director at Douglas Laing, Jamie Williamson of Kilninian Drinks Co., and Calum Leslie, former Head of Innovation at Loch Lomond Group. Between them they have seen more casks, more warehouses and more finished blends than most people manage in three careers combined, and they are using that experience to push back against the endless race for more and more identical releases. At Living Souls it is about few bottles, a clear idea and a story behind every single batch. If you are new to whisky, you simply get a well-told, well-made story in the glass. If you are a collector, this is a name to watch before the prices really start climbing.

History & Background

Living Souls launched in November 2024, when the three founders released their first collection: Batch #1, four expressions ranging from a 15 Years Old Blended Scotch built on a solera system to a 40 Years Old blend distilled all the way back in 1998. There was no single flagship bottle - instead a scattered bouquet of ages and styles, gathered under one shared craft. Batch #2 followed soon after, including a Balblair 10 Years Old finished in Limousin oak ex-XO Cognac casks, a 25 Years Old Dumbarton single grain, and another 40 Years Old blend built around malt from Glenfarclas, Fettercairn and Glen Garioch alongside grain from the long-closed Cambus distillery. From day one Living Souls has sold through specialist retailers in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, and the list of markets keeps growing as word spreads.

Production & Style

Living Souls does not work with single casks in the traditional sense - the philosophy is small batch and blending, marrying several casks together to build one rounded character rather than showcasing a single cask's quirks. They favour refill casks, both bourbon and sherry, letting the spirit itself do the talking rather than a fresh, active oak drowning it out. At the same time, there is room to experiment: a continuously replenished solera, a Limousin Cognac-cask finish on a single malt, or a 40 Years Old blend built from malt and grain whisky sourced across several distilleries, some of them long since closed. The result is rarely dull - every release is its own small experiment in how far you can push flavour and age without losing the soul in the glass.

Signature Style

Smoky, Sherried, Nutty, Honeyed, Coastal, Cognac sweetness. There is no fixed shape to a Living Souls release - that is rather the point. Some expressions lean coastal and smoky, with seaweed, medicinal peat and baked biscuit, while others go the other way with sherry, nuts and just a whisper of smoke in the background. What ties them together is a certain sweetness, often from sherry or, in a few cases, a Cognac finish that adds a touch of ripe fruit and caramel. This is whisky that rewards taking your time - much like the brand itself.

Facts

Collector's Corner

Living Souls is already on collectors' radar - not least because bottle numbers per release are limited, and things like a closed Cambus distillery or a 40 Years Old blend from 1998 will not come around again. Both Batch #1 and Batch #2 have been widely covered in international whisky media, and prices on the first bottles are already starting to creep up on the secondary market. If you are interested, you probably should not wait too long once the next drop lands.

Did You Know?

The name Kildalton, given to Living Souls' Islay release, comes from an old ruined chapel on the island's south coast. The site is home to one of Scotland's best-preserved Celtic high crosses, carved sometime in the 8th century - a small nod to just how much history hides in a glass of Islay whisky.

You Might Also Like

Like Living Souls? You might also enjoy Cadenhead's, Signatory Vintage and Valinch & Mallet.