Label 5

Type: Blended or sourced brand

In 1969, with mature Scotch stocks hard to find, Jean Cayard and the master blender of the time chose the sample that would give Label 5 its name. “Blend No. 5” stood out, according to the producer’s account, and the whisky launched that year.[1][4]

Today, Label 5 is a blended Scotch whisky made by La Martiniquaise, with Glen Moray supplying its Speyside backbone.[1][4]

What Label 5 is known for

French ownership, Scottish whisky: Label 5 brings together a French drinks group and a Scottish production network. Its Scotch is distilled, matured and bottled in Scotland.[1][6] France is its biggest market, and the trade history records distribution in more than 100 countries.[4] La Martiniquaise also acquired Cutty Sark in 2018.[7]

The producer’s “soft fruity flavours and light peaty notes” give a clear picture of the character the brand aims for.[1] Fruit and restrained peat, rather than emphatic smoke, are its chosen emphasis. This is the producer’s description, not an independent tasting assessment.

Behind the label is a production story that stretches from a named Speyside malt source to blending and bottling in West Lothian. The distinction matters: Glen Moray’s contribution to Label 5 is documented, while Starlaw’s place in the group’s network does not establish its use in the blend.[1][4]

How the fifth sample became the name

Label 5 began with a choice at the blending table. Jean Cayard worked with the master blender of the time to develop the whisky in 1969. In the producer’s telling, “Blend No. 5” stood out among the samples and supplied the name.[1] The number refers to that blending decision, not a fifth distillery or an age statement.

Launching a new blend was no simple undertaking that year. The trade history records that mature stock was hard to find in 1969.[4] Label 5 emerged before its parent group had the Scottish production network described today, a background that gives the later investment in distilling, blending and bottling its significance.

Story box: From a blending sample to Scottish production

Verdict: Documented

Claim: Label 5 takes its name from the fifth sample in the 1969 blending trials. What the record shows: the producer says the sample called “Blend No. 5” stood out and supplied the name.[1]

Evidence gap: the supplied record does not include the original trial documents. Earliest known source in the supplied record: the producer’s undated Our expertise page, checked 7 November 2026.[1]

From French blending to a Scottish base

La Martiniquaise’s roots lie in rum, not Scotch. Jean Cayard founded the business in 1934 as a rum importer and distributor. In 1946, it expanded into Cognac, calvados, Port and other drinks.[5] By the time Label 5 appeared, it belonged to an established drinks business rather than a newly founded Scottish distillery.

Until 2004, the company bought Scotch and blended and bottled it in France. Its Glen Turner subsidiary had been established in 1981, although the trade history dates the start of its operations to March 2004.[5] The First Blending Company’s opening at Bathgate formed part of this shift towards a Scottish base for the group’s Scotch business.[1][4]

Bathgate is in West Lothian, not Edinburgh.[5] Here the producer locates its blending, maturation and bottling operation, on the site where Starlaw was also built.[1][2][4] The move brought these stages of production together in Scotland, rather than leaving blending and bottling in France.

At Bathgate, the producer reports 29 ageing cellars and a bottling plant capable of producing up to 50 million bottles a year, figures checked against the supplied record in November 2026.[2] That annual figure describes bottling capability, not Label 5 sales or the volume of spirit distilled.

From buying Scotch for blending in France, the business developed a Scottish network joining distilling to blending, maturation and bottling. The trade history describes that wider investment as making the group self-sufficient.[4][5] Purchased Scotch was no longer the sole foundation of its production.

Glen Moray and Starlaw

Glen Moray supplies Label 5’s documented Speyside backbone. Starlaw is a grain distillery at the group’s Bathgate site, but the supplied record does not establish whether its whisky is used in Label 5.[1][4] Those are the two distinct connections: a named malt source for the blend, and a grain distillery within the wider production network.

Acquired in 2008, Glen Moray stands in Elgin, Speyside, and has been distilling since 1897, according to the producer’s account.[1][2][4] Both the producer and the trade history identify its contribution to Label 5.[1][4] Its importance here is not simply that it belongs to the group, but that its role in the whisky is documented.

Three details remain disputed in the fact sheet:

• Starlaw’s start date: accounts give 2010 for its opening and 2011 for production beginning. The start date remains classified as Disputed; the underlying evidence needs checking before these can be treated as reconciled milestones.[4][5]
• Bathgate’s area: accounts describe the site as 28 hectares and 75 hectares.[2][4][5][7]
• Glen Moray’s seller: accounts name The Glenmorangie Company or LVMH, which owned Glenmorangie at the time. Those descriptions may refer to the same sale.[2][4][5][7]

Label 5, Glen Moray and Starlaw are separate names with different roles. Keeping those roles clear makes the production history easier to follow without treating the disputed details as settled.

Production and brand timeline

Reading the Label 5 range

Classic Black, 12 Year Old, Extra Rare 18 Year Old and Gold Heritage are among the documented expressions.[3][4] The names distinguish the whiskies, but the supplied record does not provide a comparative tasting of them. The producer’s broad description of fruit and light peat should therefore stay a description of the brand, rather than becoming a tasting note for each bottle.

Two dated additions show the range’s development beyond the original blend. Extra Rare 18 Year Old arrived in 2013; Gold Heritage followed in 2014.[4] These are introduction dates, not evidence that every expression has remained unchanged since launch.

Original Citrus is a different kind of product. La Martiniquaise describes it as Label 5’s first flavoured spirit drink, based on Classic Black.[3] It belongs to the brand family, but is not presented as another Scotch whisky expression. When reading across the range, the product description, rather than the shared branding, is the useful guide.

Common mistakes

Treating French ownership as French production. La Martiniquaise is French, and France is Label 5’s largest market. The whisky itself is Scotch, distilled, matured and bottled in Scotland.[1][4][6]

Calling Original Citrus a whisky expression. Its Classic Black base explains the connection, but the producer identifies it as a flavoured spirit drink.[3] Keep that distinction when comparing products under the Label 5 name.

Placing Bathgate in Edinburgh. One trade account uses Edinburgh when describing the operation; the group history places Bathgate in West Lothian.[4][5] West Lothian is the location used here.

Where to go next

• Cutty Sark: another Scotch brand connected to La Martiniquaise’s portfolio.
• Ballantine's: continue exploring the histories of blended Scotch brands.
• Johnnie Walker: read another brand history within Scotch Brands and Blends.

Sources

1. Label 5. Our expertise. Producer’s account, undated, checked November 2026. https://www.label-5.com/en/our-expertise/
2. La Martiniquaise. Scotch Whiskies. Producer’s account, undated, checked November 2026. https://www.la-martiniquaise.com/en/the-group/our-expertise/our-whiskies/
3. La Martiniquaise. LABEL 5. Producer’s account, undated, checked November 2026. https://www.la-martiniquaise.com/en/marques/label-5-3/
4. Scotch Whisky. Label 5. Trade reference, undated in the supplied sheet, checked November 2026. https://scotchwhisky.com/whiskypedia/2435/label-5/
5. Scotch Whisky. La Martiniquaise. Trade reference, undated in the supplied sheet, checked November 2026. https://scotchwhisky.com/whiskypedia/2603/la-martiniquaise/
6. Wikipedia. Label 5. Edition not recorded, checked November 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Label_5
7. Wikipedia. La Martiniquaise. Edition not recorded, checked November 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Martiniquaise

This desk-researched article uses the supplied verified fact sheet, distinguishing producer accounts from trade reporting and making no first-hand tasting claims.

Last checked: November 2026