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‘Indeed. Apparently, also, the women in France were quite enchanted by our Scotsmen in World War One,’ Liz remarked. ‘Anyway, the point is that Tommy trained Evelyn to take over when he went to war. He must have realised he was going to be conscripted at some point. According to the records in my office, Evelyn was Master Distiller for three years while Tommy was away. He actually survived the war and returned to work at the distillery, but she helped him after that, too. I wonder whether the war may have changed him.’
‘Plenty o’ lads came back wi’ the shakes, an’ worse,’ Carol reminded them all. ‘I bet she did have tae help her faither.’
‘Well, I don’t know all the details,’ Liz said. ‘But I think it’s cool that Evelyn became a distiller, if only for a short time. So that was what brought me to the concept for our new launch, and our new product. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…’ She paused for dramatic effect, and changed the slide to a mock-up she had made of four new whisky labels.
‘… the Old Maids: Evelyn, Felicity, Elspeth and Muriel. Each a limited edition Loch Cameron Distillery ten-year-old single malt, but each one with its own flavour, depending on the cask. I know that you have malts currently finishing in sherry, plain oak, bourbon and wine casks, Simon, so that’s doable.’ She shot Ben a smile, hoping he liked the idea.
‘I thought that, if we used the women as a focus, then each whisky has its own story. The story of the women of Loch Cameron, and how they supported the community, enabling it to thrive. And enabling the distillery to thrive, too.’ Liz took a breath. ‘It would appeal to the newer whisky drinkers because of the focus on women. But also to the traditional demographic, because of the historic focus on tradition, the war, that kind of thing.’
There was a silence around the table.Come on, guys. Say something,Liz thought, taking a drink of water and trying to retain her composure. She had stayed up late the night before, getting the presentation ready and rehearsing it. She really wanted it to go well. Ben had hired her for her reputation as someone who got results, after all. But it was more than that.
Liz cared about these women. She really wanted the Old Maids range to revive the business, but she also wanted to tell these women’s stories. She wanted them to be heard.
‘Liz, I don’t know what to say.’ Ben frowned, leaning forward, his hands steepled in front of him, like a judge. ‘This isn’t what I expected.’
Simon, sitting next to Ben, was looking at Liz with an unreadable expression.Oh my god, they hate it,she thought.They don’t like the Old Maids thing. Maybe they don’t like the local women theme at all. Maybe I totally misjudged everything.
‘You don’t like it?’ Liz kept her voice steady.
‘No. I love it.’ Ben broke into a smile.
TWENTY-SIX
‘So. Where do we start?’ Liz asked as she, Simon and Ben stood in the main distillery hall, among the tall, gleaming copper stills. She loved being in here. A distillery was part science lab, part witch’s lair, turning ordinary ingredients into something magical that brought communities together.
She’d been working hard on the Old Maids concept as well as planning for the big presentations she had to make to the three supermarkets she had appointments booked in for. Plus, she’d been in touch with all of her favourite contacts at off licenses, cafes, restaurants and all manner of other stockists, telling them that they should be buying Loch Cameron whisky too. There hadn’t been time for her to think about Paul much, and that was one hundred per cent fine with Liz.
They hadn’t seen each other again, though they had messaged a little, back and forward. Paul wanted to come and see her again, and take her out for dinner. She had answered,
Paul, I don’t see what that will achieve. Nothing’s changed between us. You know that.
I know. But you can’t deny what’s between us. Let’s just enjoy some time together. I think we need that. To heal, he’d replied.And you haven’t answered me about coming back to Glasgow.
Paul, you can’t ask me to do that. I’m settled here now, in Loch Cameron. We can see each other a little and be gentle, see where it goes. Maybe. But I’m not just going to up sticks and move back because you want me to, she’d replied.
Okay, okay. Baby steps.
Not dinner. A casual drink, she’d replied.
Fine. Drinks.
I’m organising a launch party for the distillery’s new product. Why don’t you come to that?she’d replied. It was a perfect no pressure date: the party was already happening, and she had to be there anyway. Plus, it was a way for her to show Paul what she’d been doing since she’d been in Loch Cameron.
Okay, sounds good, he’d replied.
Part of Liz had wanted to reply that no, they shouldn’t see each other at all. But being in Paul’s arms was too difficult to say no to. She yearned for that comfortable feeling it gave her, even though he was the one who had damaged her feelings of safety before; even though she still suspected he felt that she wastoo much. It was a complicated set of feelings.
As well, in the background, there was the fact that she had some confusing feelings for Ben too. Their time together watching the starlings hadn’t helped; there had been several times now when they’d had…moments… that had felt both electric and comforting at the same time. Clearly, Ben was her boss, and nothing was likely to happen there. But Liz still knew that there was something between them, and she’d caught herself daydreaming a few times about what it would be like to kiss Ben. Was it Ben she wanted, or Paul, or in fact neither of them? Perhaps she just needed a hug. Perhaps she just needed some basic human contact because she was lonely. She didn’t know.
‘Well, we’ve agreed on the four varieties for the new range. So, we need to differentiate them,’ Simon said, crossing his arms over his chest. ‘I suggest we go with the different casks, like Liz said. Then we just use the normal malt. Minimal disruption, and we already have all four in cask. So, we’d be able to launch them in the next six months, if you got all the packaging ready.’
‘I was thinking we could actually change the barley in some way. Add in a small secret ingredient for each one, based on traditional herbs. Like inuisge beatha,’ Ben suggested.
‘That’s a lovely idea,’ Liz agreed. ‘It’s got real local appeal, and people would like the herbal element. The thing is, whisky isn’t like gin. You can be a lot freer with the botanicals with gin.’
‘Agreed.’ Simon tapped the copper still next to him, checking its temperature. ‘You cannae just start addin’ whatever ye like intae the mash. It willnae be whisky if ye do.’
‘We can if we want to,’ Ben argued. ‘And, of course it would still be whisky!’
