The Creative Palate
"My God, so much I like the taste of Scotch that sometimes
I think my name should be Igor Strawhisky."
Igor Stravinsky,
Russian born composer (1882 - 1971)
When in 1992 the world at large began to discover the qualities of single malt whiskies, Fabio Rossi saw that the time had come for another decisive step forward in the history of the Rossi merchant-dynasty and took this step by founding Wilson & Morgan. However, while the market was good, the quality of the whisky widely available wasn't, having been chill-filtered and lacking its natural colour.
And so once again, Fabio Rossi made his way to Scotland to find the kind of whisky which would be adequately distilled and would have the refined taste necessary to become a Wilson & Morgan whisky. From the very beginning, Rossi had wanted the new label not only to distinguish itself for its design and selection but most of all for its quality.
At William Cadenhead in Campbelltown, Rossi found what he was looking for. The company, which also owns the Springbank Distillery, kept the high standards Rossi demanded for his selection. In 1992 Rossi began to cherry-pick selected barrels of fine and rare malts such as Ardbeg, Springbank, Longrow, Macallan, Port Ellen and Caol Ila. These Islay malts were highly sought after in Italy - and William Cadenhead bottled them for the Wilson & Morgan Barrel Selection.
The success of this venture quickly showed that Rossi was on the right track and so he began his now "legendary" discovery-tour, roaming the Scottish Highlands, Lowlands and Islands, knocking on the doors of small, unknown distilleries as well as of those of world renown, talking to producers, traders and those "in-the-know". He bought every cask which he thought worthy of becoming a part of the Wilson & Morgan selection. At last independent of any one producer, Rossi was now able to build his selected stock of casks, which in general remain at the Scottish distilleries to mature before the malt is tasted by Rossi personally and then bottled and sold to importers all over the globe.
Today, Wilson & Morgan is one of the few non-Scottish entities which select only the best malts and distribute them under their own brand name. With private and commercial clients in Europe, Japan, Switzerland, and Taiwan, Wilson & Morgan has today become a well-known name to all those who appreciate the taste of a truly distinguished single malt whisky.