No Mean City

No Mean City.

It’s a book that explores the tenacity of the Glaswegian spirit, forged in the slums and carved into the souls of locals by razor gangs and hard men. It isn’t particularly well known, but it has a sizeable cult following, particularly among those who hail from the titular city and can relate to the novels tenacious souls

And you know what else is a famous Scottish spirit?

Someone else made that connection before you did. And that person has a start-up, a passion for whisky, and a love of Scottish literature. And once he’d put the three together, he was left with No Mean City. But this time, it’s a whisky.

A whisky that has been built from the ground up to recapture the essence of Glasgow that the original author put to page back in 1935. The founder, T Yildirim, has collaborated with the whisky legends behind Glengoyne and Smokehead, Ian Macleod, to produce an artful blended whisky that has already been picked up by 20 bars and restaurants across Scotland.

It is a sweet and fruity whisky, whirling together notes of pear, berries, apple and caramel with a light spicy finish. It is truly an adaptable whisky (and while this does seem delicious, we do have to question how these modern, punchy flavours translate to the rough, poverty-stricken streets of Glasgow).

Scottish-based artist Michael Corn designed the bottle, which features a tough-looking Glaswegian hard man staring daggers at the bartender who dares pour out his drams. It will stand out on a shelf, for better or worse.

To put it simply, this is an interesting, adaptable whisky that has perhaps had an interesting story attached to it as a sales tactic. However, it’s a very good one - and we can’t wait to try some of this Glaswegian spirit.

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