La Martiniquaise-Bardinet

From rum to Scotch

La Martiniquaise-Bardinet began with rum rather than whisky. Jean Cayard founded La Martiniquaise in 1934 to import and distribute rum. In the same year he began selling wine and spirits in France.[1]

The business did not remain exclusively a rum company. In 1946 it branched out into Cognac, Calvados, Kirsch, Madeira, Port and sweet wines. Those additions matter to the group's story because its move into Scotch came after it had already built a broader drinks portfolio.[1][3]

The double name reflects a later addition. Bardinet, a rum and cocktail company, joined the group in 1993, bringing the Negrita, Dillon and Old Nick brands. The group also bought the Busnel Calvados distillery in 2003. Rum remained part of a portfolio that had expanded well beyond it.[1]

The producer now describes its core areas of expertise as Whisky, Rum, Wine & Port, and Craft from France Spirits. That description places whisky alongside the other categories, rather than treating the group as a business devoted to Scotch alone.[2]

Scotch before Scotland

The group's Scotch story begins with Label 5, a blended Scotch launched in 1969. The portfolio already included Port, Cognac and calvados before the move into Scotch. Label 5 therefore added a new category to an established drinks business, rather than marking the beginning of the company itself.[3][4]

Label 5 is sometimes called a French whisky because of the group's French roots. It is instead blended Scotch made using spirit from the group's Scottish distilleries. The distinction between the company's origins and the whisky's production is central to understanding the brand.[2][4]

The group's approach to Scotch changed over time. It previously bought all its Scotch from outside suppliers, then blended and bottled it in France. It later chose to make, mature, blend and bottle in Scotland, bringing those stages of its Scotch business together there.[3]

Bathgate and Starlaw

The Glen Turner subsidiary was set up in 1981, but did not start operating until March 2004. That distinction matters when reading the timeline: the date of the subsidiary's establishment is not the date it began operating.[3]

In 2004 the group opened the First Blending Company at Bathgate as a maturation and bottling site for its Scotch. Bathgate is in West Lothian, and the site covers 28 hectares. One trade account places Bathgate in Edinburgh, while another identifies West Lothian.[1][3][4]

The grain distillery at Bathgate is called Starlaw. One trade profile also refers to the plant as the Glen Turner grain distillery, so the two names can appear in accounts of the same site. Starlaw was described as Scotland's first new grain distillery on a greenfield site in 40 years.[3][4]

Sources differ over when Starlaw started: one says it opened in 2010, while another says production began in 2011. The two accounts use different descriptions, opening and the start of production, and the fact sheet treats the date as disputed.[3][4]

Spirit from Starlaw is used to make Label 5, Sir Edward's and Glen Turner. Glen Turner also exports bulk spirit to La Martiniquaise operations in France. The Scottish operation therefore supplies both named Scotch brands and spirit sent to the group's French operations.[3][4]

The Bathgate development illustrates the change from the earlier arrangement, when the company bought Scotch from suppliers and carried out blending and bottling in France. With the Scottish site, maturation and bottling became part of the group's operation in Scotland.[1][3]

First Blending Company's 2004 opening and Glen Moray's 2008 acquisition were separate stages in the Scottish move. The first provided a maturation and bottling site at Bathgate, while the second added an existing Speyside single malt distillery to the group.[1]

Glen Moray in Speyside

In 2008 the group bought Glen Moray, a single malt distillery in Elgin, Speyside, from The Glenmorangie Company. Glen Moray had a long history before the purchase, so it is mistaken to suggest that it has always belonged to La Martiniquaise.[1][3][7]

The acquisition also matters to Label 5. Glen Moray malt is a major component of the blend, linking the brand to a particular malt distillery as well as to Starlaw's grain spirit. The group's Scottish holdings consequently cover both malt and grain production used in the brand.[4]

Starlaw and Glen Moray have different roles in this account. Starlaw is the Bathgate grain distillery, while Glen Moray is the single malt distillery at Elgin. Both are connected to Label 5, through Starlaw spirit and Glen Moray malt respectively.[4]

Glen Moray began as the West Brewery in 1828 and became a distillery in 1897. Nearly 70 years separated those two dates. Its history as a distillery therefore forms only part of the longer story of the site.[7]

The distillery fell silent in 1910 and reopened in 1923 under Macdonald & Muir. Later changes affected how its malt was prepared: a Saladin box replaced the floor maltings in 1958, and malting on site ended in 1978.[7]

Those dates put the 2008 purchase in context. By the time the group acquired Glen Moray, the site had already been a brewery, had become a distillery, had closed and reopened, and had changed its approach to malting.[1][7]

A further expansion in 2016 added new stills, more washback capacity and thermal vapour recompression. In 2023 Glen Moray's output reached 8.4 million litres of pure alcohol. These figures and developments describe the distillery after its acquisition, not at the time it was bought.[7]

Label 5 around the world

About 12 months after the Glen Moray purchase, Label 5 sales passed one million cases. The timing is documented, although the sales milestone alone does not establish what caused the increase. It does show how the brand's scale developed alongside the group's Scottish acquisitions.[4]

Label 5 is sold in more than 100 countries. The producer describes it as one of the world's top 10 Scotch whiskies, while a trade profile calls it the ninth best selling Scotch worldwide. These are attributed rankings rather than an independently verified current league table.[2][3]

The range has expanded beyond the original launch. Label 5 Extra Rare 18 Year Old was added in 2013, followed by Gold Heritage in 2014. The producer calls the brand's advertising campaign Power of 5.[2][4]

The brand's history is distinct from the history of its owner. Jean Cayard's company dates to 1934, Label 5 to 1969 and the Glen Moray purchase to 2008. Each date marks a different step, from the founding of the business to the development and supply of its Scotch.[1][4]

Label 5, Sir Edward's and Glen Turner share a connection to Starlaw, whose spirit is used to make all three. Label 5 also has the separately documented connection to Glen Moray malt. The available facts do not give a recipe or proportions for any of the blends.[4]

Leadership and the wider group

Jean-Pierre Cayard, Jean Cayard's son, joined the business in 1970 and is now its chief executive. Edith Cayard is general manager. The company is private and has more than 38 subsidiaries and production sites, according to a trade profile.[5]

That profile says the group operates in more than 100 countries. Its other brands described as millionaire brands include Porto Cruz Port and Poliakov vodka. They illustrate the range of the business alongside the Scotch, rum and other drinks in its portfolio.[5]

Port appears at more than one point in the company's history: it was among the drinks added in 1946, was already in the portfolio before the Scotch move, and is represented by Porto Cruz among the group's millionaire brands.[1][4][5]

La Martiniquaise-Bardinet has been described as France's second largest spirits group after Pernod Ricard. A trade source also calls it the world's fifth largest Scotch whisky producer. As with the Label 5 rankings, these descriptions are best read with their sources in mind.[4][6]

From rum importing in 1934 to a portfolio that includes Scotch, Port and vodka, the group's history is one of expansion across drinks categories. Its Scotch story is more specific: a blend launched in 1969, a shift towards production in Scotland and the acquisition of Glen Moray in 2008.[1][3][4][5]

Sources

1. La Martiniquaise, Our history. Checked November 2026.
2. La Martiniquaise, Home. Checked November 2026.
3. ScotchWhisky.com, La Martiniquaise. Checked November 2026.
4. ScotchWhisky.com, Label 5. Checked November 2026.
5. Forbes, Jean-Pierre Cayard & family. Checked November 2026.
6. Wikipedia, La Martiniquaise. Checked November 2026.
7. Maltspedia, Glen Moray Distillery. Checked November 2026.