🥃 Leith's Whisky Web: Part 2

Email newsletter originally sent to subscribers on 20 February 2025

Looking through the old Pattison family photo albums, I came across this image:

Now, on the face of it, this looks like your average baby photo often found in albums across the land. But it was this message written on the back of the photo that piqued my interest:

“With Ada’s love to dear Eliza. Kenneth - 6 weeks”

Firstly, who were Ada and Kenneth? And secondly, why did Ada send this photo to Eliza, Walter's wife?

The combination of these names rang a wee bell. Now, you already know that I'm a taphophile so you may have seen this over on my social media:

So, the Ada in question was a certain Ada May Bristowe who gave birth to her son, Kenneth, on 28th May 1899.

Kenneth's full name was Kenneth William Bristowe Sanderson, of the well-known and well-respected Scotch whisky Sandersons whose business was based in Leith.

Kenneth's father was William Mark Sanderson and, in previous emails, I've highlighted how William Mark and Walter did, in fact, not only move in the same business circles but were also close friends.

This photo - or, moreover, the message on the back - reveals that their wives were equally as close.

It was taken in July 1899, when Kenneth was just six weeks old - after the business of Pattisons Ltd had crashed. So, we can deduce that, despite all of the other serious repercussions, the collapse didn't have an adverse effect on the families' friendship.

William Mark officially took over the running of the business of William Sanderson & Son in 1908, after his father - also named William - died.

And it was William Mark who came up with the slogan for their flagship brand VAT 69: Quality Tells!

The business at the time was based on Quality Street in Leith - which has since been renamed Maritime Street.

This is just one illustration of how Scotch whisky’s families - in Leith and beyond - were so intertwined both professionally and personally.

The so-called Pattison Crash not only put pressure on the trade at that time but it also put a great deal of strain on those personal relationships that had been established over a number of years. Whether the Sandersons kept in touch with Walter and Eliza after the trial is not known - I've yet to find any correspondence between the two families after 1901.

In a future newsletter, I'd like to take a much closer look at the Sanderson family - as one could consider them true pioneers of the Scotch whisky industry.

In the meantime, I’ll unveil more stories such as this at the tastings scheduled over the next couple of months. You can book your place(s) HERE. I appreciate that £50 may seem a fairly hefty price tag at first glance. So, I’ll be posting on social media over the next few weeks to give you an idea of the calibre of the line-up. I’m certain it won’t disappoint!

Slàinte!
Justine