The big interview: Cara Laing 3rd March, 2021 by Melita Kiely As director of whisky and part of the third generation of family-owned Douglas Laing & Co, Cara Laing has a close affinity with the brand. She tells us how the pursuit of a career in vodka led her home to whisky and plans for Strathearn Distillery. Cara Laing, director of whisky at Douglas Laing *This feature was originally published in the December 2020 issue of The Spirits Business magazine. “I was given my first Port Ellen in a Hot Toddy aged about nine, and I thought it was the most disgusting stuff, and I didn’t really understand how it paid for holidays and nice things in life,” recalls Cara Laing. It’s a lot to ask of a nine‐year‐old to appreciate the nuances of a brand as prestigious as Port Ellen, even one who is part of the third generation of family‐ owned whisky bottler Douglas Laing & Co.