Sometimes you don’t have to tell me much to pique my interest. That’s what happened with Woven, the new addition to LKC Premium Drinks’ portfolio. The sentence, “a new, modern approach to whisky” was enough to win me over. Below is a detailed discussion with Pete Allison, at the product’s first official appearance at Whisky Live Athens..
Why have you chosen the name “Woven”?
The name “Woven” came out of a conversation between us and our creative agency. We were looking for a word that could represent blending and “woven” really stood out. It comes from the idea of weaving, of taking different threads and combining them to create something greater a fabric. That felt really aligned with how we see blended whisky.
We’re working with many different parts: grain and malt whiskies, different casks, distilleries, philosophies, and people and we’re bringing all of that together into a single creation, just like a weaver would when crafting something from many threads. More than that, the word “woven” represents the human side of what we do. It suggests connection, craft, and community. It’s contemporary, accessible, and universal. Weavers exist all over the world. It’s one of the oldest human crafts and now we’re doing it with whisky.
Even our logo ties into that the “W” is also an “M” for whisky making, and it references the stitch pattern from a Singer sewing machine. That little zigzag stitch became the mark and it carries the idea of weaving right through our identity.
What’s your background, and your role now in Woven?
My background’s not especially glamorous I came up through commercial roles. I started out in beer, moved into sherry, and then worked at Edrington in a mix of brand, sales, and advocacy roles. It gave me a solid grounding in how drinks brands are built and sold, and it taught me how to work closely with producers, customers, and storytellers.
But what really excites me now is the role I play at Woven. As a co-founder, I’ve been part of shaping the brand from the very beginning but my main focus is the whisky itself.
I lead our liquid development and innovation. That means creating blends, building relationships with distilleries, managing our stock, and working closely with our production partners to bring our ideas to life.
It’s a hands-on role, and I love that. I spend a lot of time tasting, experimenting, writing blend briefs, and testing concepts. I also help shape the wider direction of the business making sure the product stays aligned with our values, our brand, and our ambition to push blended whisky into new territory.
What is blended whisky to you?
Blending is one of the most creative and expressive parts of whisky making. It lets you build something entirely new, something more than the sum of its parts. You can bring flavours together from different distilleries to contrast, to complement, and to challenge each other. It’s a craft that’s entirely about intention and composition.
At Woven, we use blending to tell stories through flavour. That’s why we call our whiskies experiences. They’re about discovery, exploration, and capturing a feeling in the glass. There are incredible blends out there, and we think the category is only just beginning to show its potential again. Especially when you start looking beyond Scotland to America, Japan, India, Australia, the continent the possibilities multiply. Different philosophies, techniques, ingredients. It’s an exciting time for blending.
“We want to discover just what blended whisky can be.”
You’ve got a very modern, minimal image. What’s the thinking behind it?
When Duncan, Nick and I started Woven, we’d all come from working on historic brands the kind with weighty bottles, gold foil, ornate labels. It wasn’t that we didn’t respect that world, but it didn’t feel like ours. Our own lives looked a bit different. Our friends are chefs, artists, musicians, designers, people who live and breathe creativity. The whisky we drank was usually shared over food, with music, in spaces that felt informal and expressive. The brands that resonated with us were tactile, design-led, minimal, intentional. So we wanted Woven to reflect that world. We use small brown bottles with a pharmacy vibe. They’re easy to pick up, nice to hold. We wanted the label to spark curiosity, not shout. That minimalism isn’t about being cool for the sake of it. It’s about creating space. And when you scratch beneath the surface, we go deep. Our website is open. We publish the blend breakdowns. We write about the process. There’s a lot behind the simplicity, if you want it.
Three words that describe Woven
Connected: because everything we do is about bringing people, places, ideas, and flavours together.
Intentional: because nothing we do is random. From the way we blend to the way we communicate, it’s all considered and purposeful.
Curious: because we’re always asking questions, always exploring. Curiosity drives the way we think, make, and move forward
Your concept is quite uncommon — how do customers react to that?
The most common reaction we get is curiosity. At whisky shows, we’re usually next to brands with lots of tradition and visual cues people recognise. We look different and that usually brings people over to find out more. When they taste the whisky, the response is usually really positive. Even people who didn’t expect it to be whisky are surprised and intrigued by it. Inside the whisky world, people are getting it quickly. And we’re also starting to bring in people who maybe didn’t think whisky was for them. That’s exciting. There’s sometimes a moment of surprise when people realise not all of our blends are Scotch. But once we explain the why, the idea of global blending and collaboration, it usually clicks. We’re lucky that the reception has been overwhelmingly good. People seem to enjoy it, and that’s what matters most.
What are the criteria you look for in blending partners?
The first thing we look for is whether the distillery, the whisky, and the people behind it are telling a story doing something interesting, unique, or meaningful. We’re not just focused on big names. We actively seek out independent and lesser-known distilleries that are creating whiskies with characters, something that stands out. That could be a specific flavour hook, a unique process, or a texture that excites us.
Texture is a big part of how we blend at Woven we often build blends with texture first. So, if we find distilleries making waxy, oily spirit, we want to talk to them. We have a flavour-first approach. We’re not buying casks based on reputation we’re tasting the liquid and asking: does this bring something compelling to the blend? We also buy at small scale, so we’re not looking to lock down huge contracts. That allows us to be flexible and focused. But what makes the best partnerships really work is a willingness to experiment and to collaborate. We want to create joint stories — where we’re not just the end customer, but the mouthpiece for what they’re doing too.
What kind of products have you released, and how did you choose them?
When we started Woven, we didn’t think of what we were making as expressions or products — we called them experiences. Each one was about capturing something — a time, a place, a philosophy — in liquid form. Something you couldn’t express in the same way any other way. We’ve released 22 of those experiences so far, each exploring a different narrative. Alongside them, we also have a core range of three whiskies:
- Homemade is our love letter to Leith. It’s inspired by classic Scotch blends but made using modern techniques and ideas so it feels timeless but fresh.
- Superblend brings together whiskies from around the world Canada, Ireland, Japan, Germany, England, Scotland and creates something greater than the sum of its parts.
- Hemispheres is all about minimalism and contrast. It brings together a smoky single malt from New Zealand, smoked with manuka wood, and a soft Scottish single grain that smooths and elevates the experience.
When I make a whisky, I usually start with an idea. Then I blend for texture, move toward clarity, and finish with balance. Through that process, the concept starts to take shape. It’s rarely linear — the meaning comes through the making.
What’s a future blend you wish to create?
It’s hard to name just one, because there are so many ideas. For me, it’s about developing both the Woven range and myself as a blender. I’m interested in bringing new processes and flavours into whisky things that haven’t been tried before. That might mean borrowing techniques from winemaking or brandy-making to create something completely new. I’m also excited by what’s happening at new distilleries around the world. There are producers making whisky in ways that are totally unique to their place. Blending those into something cohesive is a really exciting challenge. We just released an all-English blend the first time that’s been done using amazing distilleries from around England. That mix of heritage and innovation was really fun to work with. I’d love to do more country-specific blends, and keep experimenting with techniques that push flavour into new territory.
From the existing blends, which one was the most exciting — and which is your favourite?
One of the most exciting blends we’ve done was called Pete versus Pete. I’m not the biggest fan of smoky whisky, but we knew we wanted to make something with a peat profile. The challenge was figuring out how to work with such a volatile, dominating component. What I did was build a fully finished blend that was as fruity and tropical as I could make it and then layer in very small amounts of peat at the end. That gave me control and let the other flavours shine. It was a big learning moment, and one that shifted how I think about using bold components.
My favourite blend is probably Homemade. I absolutely adore it. It’s got this beautiful fruit-forward, apple-led profile, with beeswax and structure from American oak, European oak, sherry, and port. It’s layered and rich, but still really balanced. It’s the whisky that’s closest to my personal taste.
What’s your preferred way to enjoy whisky?
It depends entirely on the mood. I don’t believe in strict rules when it comes to whisky that feels outdated and conformist. For me, it’s all about context. Right now, for example the sun’s out in Edinburgh, it’s a Friday afternoon, and I’d love a long highball. In the words of Dave Broom, it’s like drinking a whisky in watercolour. You still get the nuance and the vibrancy, but without the intensity. I also love drinking whisky in unexpected places on a beach, around a bonfire, with friends, at a barbecue. I enjoy the dexterity of the spirit. It can be neat, in a cocktail, with water, over ice it adapts to the moment. And that freedom is something I’ve come to appreciate more and more.
Does whisky have seasonality?
Yeah, whisky absolutely has seasonality. Flavours and moods shift with the seasons, and we think whisky can and should shift with them too. Some of our blends are better suited to summer lighter, more citrus-led whiskies that work well long or chilled. We made one called Chardonnier, for example, that was designed to be drunk long with water, almost like a table wine. Then we’ve got blends like Midnight Oil, which is spicy, peated, complex something you’d enjoy in the winter, in the evening, maybe with a fire on. The way we drink whisky also changes throughout the year whether we’re drinking it long, neat, with food, or as part of a social moment. We see whisky as a living product. So why wouldn’t it be seasonal? It should be.
Woven Whisky is imported in Greece by LKC Premium Drinks
