FAMILY MATTERS
I’ve been thinking a lot about family recently. It’s probably the distance from them (I recently emigrated from the UK to Sweden), the difficulty seeing them (thanks, Covid) and the passing festive period spent apart. This turned my thinking to family business and, specifically, what makes a family-owned whisky business different from any other kind.
When you think of family businesses there are certain tropes of fealty, scrimping and perhaps striving and strife that come to mind. There are also more romantic connotations of legacy, duty and upholding a family name to consider. However, for every good tradition there is perhaps a figurehead who is ‘stuck in their ways’ and, for every family bond, the danger of valuing loyalty over skill.
Of course, the term ‘family business’ is far too broad; many are ‘mom and pop’ type operations, and others are vast, international businesses – some of the biggest names in spirits are family controlled. That said, I was sure there was something about family businesses – big, small, established or nascent – that united them. I spoke to five people who have started, inherited, or work in them to try to uncover the secret sauce that binds them together.
Patrick van Zuidam
Master Distiller & Managing Director, Zuidam Distillers – Second generation
Known for its Millstone single malt and rye whiskies, this Dutch distillery was founded by Fred van Zuidam in 1975. Originally occupying no more than 300 square metres, with only one small copper still, it is now world renowned with a range of products
