PODCAST: Cardhu celebrates pioneering spirit with trailblazing female entrepreneurs
Cardhu Distillery is celebrating its milestone anniversary of 200 years, a journey that started with the pioneering spirit of Helen and Elizabeth Cumming.
To mark this anniversary and the distillery’s rich history, the Cardhu team hosted an exclusive event at the distillery that showcased three female pioneers of today, who are at the top of their game, leading in their sectors and achieving extraordinary things. These pioneers are founder and CEO of Ujamaa Spice, Jawahir Al-Mauly; fashion designer Siobhan Mackenzie; and founder of Dear Green Coffee Roastery, Lisa Lawson. These three inspirational business women told the story of their achievements, challenges and trailblazing efforts within their industries at the event, and also on a special bonus episode of our podcast, Scran.
Ahead of the special event, held on 26 September at the distillery in Speyside, we spoke to Siobhan, Lisa and Jawahir about how they started out on their career paths, the challenges they’ve faced and advice they’d give anyone looking to them for inspiration, as well as what they wanted people to take away from the night.
Siobhan’s work is comparable to the work carried out at Cardhu, she explained how she goes about modernising the kilt – such a sacred and respected part of Scottish heritage, saying: “For me, respecting the tradition is a massive part of what I do. When I was a fashion student, I trained in traditional kilt making with Glenisla Kilts, and I spent a day a week with each part of the team.
Fashion designer Siobhan MackenzieVery much like whisky, every single part of the process is as important as the last one to make it what it is, so I learned the traditional craft first.
“I did that before trying to implement anything different with it. And for me, I have to credit that. That has been one of the best things I could've done. Because I think if you try to change something as iconic as the kilt, without the correct understanding, I think that could go wrong.”
When asked about Helen’s pioneering spirit, Siobhan said: “To think these days it's tough being a woman in a male dominated industry, I can't imagine what it must have been like 200 years ago. She just sounds like an absolute legend. I think I would have quite liked her as a business mentor.”
Next up was Jawahir Al-Mauly, founder of Ujamaa Spice. She sources and sells single origin, ethical and traceable spices directly from farmers in Zanzibar. Her story is truly one of perseverance, empathy and a passion born out of wanting to see a fairer world of trade open up. Jawahir said she felt a kindred spirit in Helen.
She said: “I actually see quite a parallel between myself and Helen, because while she is in a very different industry, when I was reading her story and when I found out that she had the means to distil, however, she wasn't able to afford the licence to do it. She still found a way to do what she was passionate about.
“And that really, really resonated with me because just like her, I have the means to help all these (spice) farmers in Zanzibar. But where my company is right now, I cannot like go against the big guys – they have a lot more money than I do.”
Jawahir Al-Mauly, founder of Ujamaa SpiceHowever, that did not stop me from doing what I'm doing. And I still said, you know what, I'm going to go against the grain and I'm just going to do it because it's what I'm passionate about.
She also had this advice for those looking to strike out on their own, as Helen did: “Do it. It might seem hard. It might seem – especially if your idea is very innovative and if you are a pioneer – you're going to see signs everywhere telling you not to go forward, not to do what you want to do, not to follow that passion. And all I'm going to say is, Why not? Just go for it. And it's going to be hard, but it's going to be worth it. So I don't know you, but you have my full approval. And if I can do it, I feel like anyone can.”
Finally Lisa spoke to us about her business, Dear Green Coffee Roasters, based in Glasgow. Lisa was key in bringing specialty coffee to Glasgow and beyond, as, when she returned from living in Australia, she couldn’t find specialty grade coffee in the city so she started up her own roastery. Lisa linked the growth of quality coffee in the UK to the growth of cocktail bars and mixology, saying: “The parallels in the coffee industry becoming more of a quality focused industry, maybe in the last 10 to 15 years, has also had a parallel with a lot of advancements in like mixology and cocktail bars.
“We're not looking at just things like espresso martinis necessarily as the only coffee cocktail these days. I really do enjoy drinking a little dram and I really enjoy coffee.
Founder of Dear Green Coffee Roastery, Lisa LawsonThere's more interesting ways of bringing these drinks together, like using a cold brew with single origin coffee, maybe pairing that with a specific whisky.
“I know that the Cardhu 200 anniversary whisky has been prepared with cold brew to create something delicious for their celebration. I can't wait to try it.”
To hear more about the Cardhu 200 anniversary celebration and from the modern day pioneers, search Scran wherever you get your podcasts. Find out more about Cardhu, their history and 200 years of pioneering spirit here at CardhuDistillery.com and its modern day pioneers here.