【Exclusive Interview】Ola Lopatowska – Tri Carragh

Established in 2022, Tri Carragh is an independent startup bottler rooted in Edinburgh, Scotland. Fueled by a fascination for the exclusivity of single cask malts, Tri Carragh has earned global recognition for its unwavering dedication to high-quality whiskies. Their exclusive bottles, never to be replicated, are intended to create conversations among those with whom you share your time.

In this article, Ola Lopatowska, co-founder of Tri Carragh and Stravaig Spirits, shares her career and the philosophy of Tri Carragh.

The Basic Information of Tri Carragh

Company’s Name	Tri Carragh
Year of Establishment	2022
Founders	Ola Lopatowska Ryan McCafferty
Location	Hudson House, 8 Albany Street Edinburgh, Midlothian, EH1 3QB.
Official Website	Tri Carragh Stravaig Spirits Company

About Ola Lopatowska

Attracted by people brought together by whisky

Dear WHISKY：
We would like to start by asking about your career.
What brought you into the whisky industry?

Ola：
My first job in whisky was in the sales and events department at Scotch Malt Whisky Society. I knew that whisky is considered one of the most famous things in Scotland, but I didn’t like the taste and smell of whisky at first.

So, I got interested in this job because of the people that whisky attracts from all over the world.

Dear WHISKY：
After you joined the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, you moved to different sectors, including motorbikes and software.
What motivated you to navigate through various industries?

Ola：
I like challenges and new experiences. I believe that we can learn something if we push ourselves outside our comfort zone. So, if an opportunity arises, I usually accept the offer. I did not plan, but such a mindset led me to pursue a career involved with different industries.

People as the reason for pursuing a career in the whisky industry

Dear WHISKY：
What ultimately drew you back to the whisky industry?

Ola：
When I ran some whisky-tasting events at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, I was fascinated by how this one drink could immediately connect people from different places, and I found it such a fun and interesting place to work.

Also, as I learned about whisky more, I came to like the taste and started to appreciate the whisky. Such appreciation gradually grew to become a passion for the job.

Dear WHISKY：
What aspects of working in the whisky industry appeal to you the most?

Ola：
I’ve never enjoyed working in an industry as much as I love whisky community. I think it’s because of that community aspect.

It is a very small world, but we can feel the passion evolves from people. I think that there is no other industry that invokes the same passion as whisky.

Meeting a partner to launch Straviag Spirits

Dear WHISKY：
How did you meet your business partner, Ryan?

Ola：
We both worked at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and met at the event where I was behind the scenes in the sales and events team, and he was in front of the customers as an ambassador, teaching people the charms of single casks and single malt.

Dear WHISKY：
How did you become business partners?

Ola：
Once we met, it was not difficult to become a good friend and business partner.

The whisky community is very niche, and everybody is very close since we all have a love of single cask and single malt.

Also, I think anybody who has worked in the hospitality business will know how to develop quite strong friendships with people.

Establishing own company with a passion for whisky

Dear WHISKY：
Why did you establish Stravaig Spirits?

Ola：
If you know your passion and the business you want to be in, I believe that doing for yourself leads to better outcomes.

Another factor that led us to make this decision was the number of connections and contacts that we had by working in the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. That made it possible to launch our own company.

Dear WHISKY：
You launched the company after the Covid-19 pandemic occurred. How did that influence your decision?

Ola：
During the pandemic, many people started to think it was unnecessary to go into the office every day from nine to five and work for somebody. That also made me realise that if there’s an opportunity, we could do it for ourselves.

Nominated at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards

Dear WHISKY：
Could you explain about the Great British Entrepreneur Awards of 2023 that you’ve nominated?

Ola：
The Great British Entrepreneur Awards yearly nominates and celebrates the stories of entrepreneurs from across the United Kingdom.

I got a nomination for the startup entrepreneur of the year in Scotland in 2023.

Dear WHISKY：
How did you feel when you were nominated for the award? 

Ola：
I am honoured that our business plans and what we’ve achieved in the past year were recognized. I got the finals and was invited to attend the ceremony in London. It was such an amazing experience to be nominated along with a lot of absolutely great companies in the UK.

Stravaig Spirits and Tri Carragh

Introduction to Stravaig Spirits

Dear WHISKY：
Could you introduce “Stravaig Spirits”, the parental company of Tri Carragh?

Ola：
We’re both a cask broker and an independent bottler.

We broker and manage casks for individuals or businesses based in the UK or abroad. Also, as an independent bottler, we help individuals and companies with their own independent brand creation.

Private label single malt Scotch is predominantly for export, and we support them from the selection of casks, the design of their labels, the selection of glass all the way to exporting the product for them.

Launching Tri Carragh as own whisky brand

Dear WHISKY：
What are the reasons behind the launch of Tri Carragh as Stravaig Spirits’ own whisky brand?

Ola：
We launched Tri Carragh in October 2022. The reason is that despite our long involvement in the field of whisky, we did not have a finished product at the end.

As people who love whisky, our motivation and goal have always been to have our own products. Therefore, I think it was sort of a natural progression from what we were doing before.

Dear WHISKY：
When did you come up with the plans to launch Tri Carragh?

Ola：
Probably by the same time as we started Stravaig Spirits. We had an idea very far in advance, but everything took time to prepare for the actual launch.

The story behind the name and logo

Dear WHISKY：
What is the story behind the name of Tri Carragh?

Ola：
The name Tri Carragh means three pillars in Gaelic.

The thought behind this was that we wanted to celebrate and recognize the importance of the three main ingredients that create Scotch whisky, which are water, barley and yeast.

Dear WHISKY：
What does Tri Carragh’s logo represent?

Ola：
It represents standing stones that you can see in the countryside of Scotland. Some say they are the religious sight of worship, but nobody knows their historical significance.

However, we chose them in our logo because we wanted to stay with the tradition and heritage of Scotland.

Ryan and I are very passionate about whisky and the history and heritage of Scotland because they are deeply ingrained in the tradition of whisky. Combination of the above two reasons, we thought we could create a logo that we would be proud of by using the standing stones.

Features of Whisky produced by Tri Carragh

Quality as a primary focus

Dear WHISKY：
What is the philosophy of Tri Carragh?

Ola：
We don’t bottle just for the sake of bottling. We’re quite considerate about the choice of whisky that we are bottling. Also, we don’t rush to release products. We’ve only released nine kinds of bottles so far, three bottles for each release.

Our focus is the quality. I think you can only keep the high standard if you’re selective with the casks that you bottle.

Dear WHISKY：
Why do you think the quality is important?

Ola：
We want to respect every drinker’s opinion since the taste and preference of whisky are subjective. Therefore, our approach is not to aim for the best whisky.

I think as long as you’re bottling something of quality, it doesn’t necessarily have to be absolutely the best whisky in the world.

Dear WHISKY：
What kind of whisky are you aiming to create?

Ola：
We want to produce a whisky that can create conversation and opinion. Even if people do not like our whisky, as long as they share their thoughts and give them opportunities to try new whisky, I think our whisky creates meaningful experiences.

Cask selection

Dear WHISKY：
How do you decide which cask to bottle?

Ola：
Ryan and I first sample casks and discuss whether we want to bottle. Then, we’ll take it to a few bars or shops to get their opinion on our samples before making the final decision.

Dear WHISKY：
What are the criteria for selecting the cask?

Ola：
There’s not a specific criteria. As long as it tastes good and fits into our lineup, we are open to trying. Obviously, price is important. It has to fit the right price point to be profitable, but we would be flexible to spend more if we think it brings Tri Carragh benefits.

Dear WHISKY：
In what situations do you choose not to bottle the cask?

Ola：
I think there is no bad taste because it’s just people’s preferences.

However, when you bottle whisky, you have to either go for two different tastes: something really weird and absurd or in a good balance.

If the taste doesn’t fit in either of those, it could maybe need a little longer or be reracked into something else. Thus, at that point, we usually decide not to bottle.

The value of Single Cask Whisky

Exclusive nature as an appeal of single cask whisky

Dear WHISKY：
Why does Tri Carragh exclusively release single cask whiskies?

Ola：
I think it’s because of our background. Working at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, we learned how to appreciate whisky from a single cask point of view. So it’s never been a consideration to do anything else.

What we’re passionate about has always been a single cask, single malt, because of its unique, exclusive and limited nature.

It’s disappointing when you finish a bottle and can’t get another one, but it also offers amazing opportunities to try other casks and bottles.

Dear WHISKY：
What is your approach toward filtering and colouring?

Ola：
We don’t add colour or perform chill-filtering. We want to deliver the whisky to customers in the purest form. The whisky has rested for many years without anybody adding anything. I want to maintain the whisky in a natural way.

The status of single cask and single malt in Scotland

Dear WHISKY：
Is concentrating solely on single cask whisky an uncommon strategy in Scotch whisky industry?

Ola：
I think it’s still relatively rare, as a large percentage of the market is composed of blended whisky. Single cask whisky is still a very small percentage. However, its unique and niche characteristics give it a sort of cult popularity and a club mentality.

With such popularity, many independent bottlers are now creating single cask whisky and marketing it to be a bit more accessible.

Dear WHISKY：
How is single cask whisky perceived in Scotland?

Ola：
It is certainly perceived as a premium product enjoyed among people who know about whisky.

However, I think it is not necessarily a better whisky because, again, it’s everybody’s choice, and sometimes you can come across an absolutely amazing blended whisky with a lot of work to create those flavours and the balance.

Introduction to the third release by Tri Carragh

Dear WHISKY：
What is the lineup of the recent release?

Ola：
We released three kinds of bottles: single malt from Lowland Distillery (Dalrymple), Craigellachie Distillery, and Secret Speyside Distillery in September 2023. They are all matured in sherry casks.

Dear WHISKY：
Why did you choose three sherry casks instead of having a variety in the lineup?

Ola：
We liked those casks and found them desirable to bottle.

There’s no plan or real concept with the three casks that we choose for each release. It’s just because we came across three sherry casks that we found interesting to bottle.

Dear WHISKY：
Could you elaborate on the Secret Speyside Distillery? 

Ola：
We don’t disclose the distillery, so people can find it funny about paying a certain price despite not knowing the name of it. This was possible because we’ve already done two releases before that, and people are confident in the quality and the choices that we’ve made before.

Development of Sales Channel

Expanding the channels through word of mouth

Dear WHISKY：
How do you expand your sales channel?

Ola：
We’re relatively new, so we have been relying on word of mouth, like social media. Sending emails to our clients is also useful, but I think the best way is whisky shows. However, we’ve only just started to do that because we didn’t have enough stock.

To get our brand recognition, I think whisky events have a perfect audience as they are interested in single cask and single malt.

Dear WHISKY：
Are you looking to broaden your sales channels internationally?

Ola：
We would love to have our bottles available in more countries, but our primary customers are the shops in the UK who have supported us from the very start when nobody knew who we were. We want to continue providing them with the stock they need and maintain the relationships we’ve developed.

So, we will aim to grow sales overseas while keeping a balance with the sales in the UK.

Care for people as a philosophy of running a business

Dear WHISKY：
What do you care about the most when running the business?

Ola：
I think it’s very important to be honest and look after the people you deal with because the trust you gain will return to you later in the years. Also, I don’t see people as competitors.

I see people just trying to do their job, have fun, and make some money. Those make me value the people who work with Tri Carragh.

Overcoming COVID-19 to launch Tri Carragh

Dear WHISKY：
What was the biggest challenge that Tri Carragh has encountered till today?

Ola：
I think the biggest challenge was the planning. Since we started during COVID, we couldn’t really plan because everything was changing, such as the prices of glass, shipments, and labour costs. Everything was just up and down. Therefore, adjusting to COVID and post-COVID was a huge challenge trying to release our whisky.

Dear WHISKY：
What are the difficulties of starting an independent startup bottler? 

Ola：
It has been a challenge to create a USP, a unique selling point, and develop relationships with people like retailers and distributors since there are a lot of independent bottlers in Scotland. 

Dear WHISKY：
What has become your USP?

Ola：
We thought running the company with two of us was our USP.

Our backgrounds and connections that we’ve built over the years are the factors that make us stand out among other brands.

Dear WHISKY：
How did you build the relationship?

Ola：
We visited bars around Scotland by ourselves. We travelled from Aberdeen to Glasgow and  London and built personal connections with people selling bottles. 

Future Prospects

Dear WHISKY：
What is Tri Carragh’s next goal?

Ola：
We’ll continue what we are doing. We aim to increase our exports but not compromise quality and all the things that we stand for. The export market is important for us because there are other countries that truly appreciate single cask and single malt. Thus, we would like to have a foothold there.

However, again, our focus is quality, so we do not want to increase our output too much if the quality does not stay up.

Dear WHISKY：
Are you planning to grow your team?

Ola：
Definitely, yes. We have been running the company with just Ryan and me. However, as the company grows, hiring people has become our next immediate goal. What concerns me is that we have a lot of customers, but there are not enough people to answer their questions and give them advice. Thus, we aim to have a salesperson and an admin person to look after the customers.

I want to keep the company customer-focused even if we get busier.

Message for Dear WHISKY’s Readers

Dear WHISKY：
Could you give our readers a message?

Ola：
One advice for readers is that don’t be nervous about exploring whiskies that you think you might not like!
Also, Tri Carragh is available in Japan, so please keep an eye on our social media.

If you could follow us on Instagram, you can see our retailers and know the ways to buy our whiskies. So, please follow us and see what we are doing!

At Last

Tri Carragh, with an appreciation for Scotch whiskies’ core ingredients ‘water, barley, and yeast’, produces the quality of single cask malts whiskies. In this article, we exclusively interviewed Ola Lopatowska, a co-founder of Stravaig Spirits and Tri Carragh, renowned for genuine care for people and a deep love for whiskies and community, backed by years of expertise in the Scotch whisky industry.

Tri Carragh will continue to grow with its commitment to quality and create a conversation and opinions among people, helping people to explore the charms of single cask malt whiskies around the globe.