CHRIS Leggat can pinpoint the exact moment he fell in love with Scotch whisky.

It was in the picturesque surroundings of the Glengoyne Distillery, nestled in the shadow of the Campsie Hills near Killearn. He was in his mid-teens and had been drafted in to help during an open day at the behest of his father, who worked for the distillery’s then owner, Edrington.

Until that moment, it is fair to say, he had not given that much thought to Scotland’s national drink, let alone to emulating his father and building a career in the industry.

“I remember it was a nice sunny day and turning up, aged 16, grumpy as you can imagine [for a] day of work with people I don’t know, and just being amazed by the Glengoyne car park, and all these buses and tourists who had come to this open day,” Mr Leggat recalled. “[I remember] the smell of a working distillery and it became very addictive.

“I was fascinated, and from that day forward I knew I wanted to follow his footsteps into the drinks industry. It was Scottish, the tourists loved it and there was a magical element to it.”

Mr Leggat is now chief executive of Douglas Laing & Co, the long-established Glasgow whisky blender and bottler he joined five years ago. He runs the firm alongside chairman Fred Laing, whom he recently succeeded in the top job, and director of whisky Cara Laing – who also happens to be his wife and daughter of Fred. And it is an exciting time for the company, not least because of its plans to build a £10 million distillery on the former Glasgow Garden Festival site.

But he has not spent all his career in Scotch. Indeed, it would be several years after that pivotal trip to Glengoyne before he realised his dream, though he did gain exposure to the wider hospitality industry not too long after that day.

As a student, he began working at Rogano, the famous Glasgow seafood restaurant and cocktail bar, alongside two of his friends. Starting out as a glass washer, he ultimately rose to hold full-time managerial roles in a five-year spell at the venerable institution. There, he cultivated a fascination with the way it met the needs of its patrons, from wealthy regulars via tourists to well-known city faces.

Crucially, in terms of his future career, he also developed a keen understanding of brands and how they were selected to match the restaurant’s clientele.

“It was a phenomenal period in my life,” Mr Leggat said. “There were 70 people who worked in Rogano and it was one big family. It was great.”

Satisfying though his time at Rogano was, Mr Leggat said he came to a “crossroads” in his career: one avenue would have kept him in the hospitality sector, the other a diversion into the supply side and work representing brands. Having mulled his options, which included the possibility of opening his own bar, he chose the latter. A role as a national ambassador with Tennent’s Lager was his next port of call, with the brand at the time investing to reposition itself in the young adult market through initiatives such as T in the Park. It was an energising time.

“The team I was in had a great job, because we were given a budget to go and spend in bars, helping them sell more Tennent’s. What’s not to like in that scenario?” he said.

From Tennent’s it was on to Cellar Trends, a UK distributor of premium brands such as Campari, Midori, Jagermeister and Patron Tequila, as well as Isle of Arran whisky and the Morrison Bowmore portfolio. The role involved handling an array of accounts, from bars, pub groups and clubs to retailers and wholesalers, and it gave him a “great insight into international brands”.

Mr Leggat said: “The big one that stood out was Campari. The way Campari handled and managed their branded business was phenomenal.”

He retains a relationship with Cellar Trends today, with the company having been appointed by Douglas Laing to distribute its Remarkable Regional Malts range in the UK. But he did not move directly to Douglas Laing from Cellar Trends, where he had a three-year spell.

In between was an important spell at Glasgow-based Morrison Bowmore, for both personal and professional reasons. It was while working at that company, now part of giant drinks firm Beam Suntory, that he met his future wife, Cara. It also gave him his first taste of working directly for a distiller, covering European markets over a four-year spell.

Although Morrison Bowmore was part of Japan’s giant Suntory corporation, Mr Leggat said it was like a “big family business”. Long service and friendships between colleagues were commonplace.

“It was a fabulous atmosphere,” he said. “It was run in Springburn in Glasgow. Yes, it had targets to meet, but the ethos of Morrison Bowmore still had those family values. A lot of people I worked with then I still regard as close friends today.”

In that respect, it was the perfect preparation for joining the family-owned Douglas Laing. However, when he arrived at the firm five years ago, it was in the aftermath of the biggest shake-up in its history. Brothers Fred and Stewart Laing, who had run the business passed down from their father for 45 years, had taken the decision to go their separate ways. Mr Leggat said the change had brought opportunities for both sides. Stewart Laing now heads whisky firm Hunter Laing with sons Andrew and Scott.

Cara had moved to work for Douglas Laing before Mr Leggat joined, and he admits there was much work to be done as the company prepared for its new future. Mr Leggat was also wary of how joining would affect the dynamics of family life.

“Cara and I met at Morrison Bowmore, so we knew how to manage work and life,” he said. “We understood the balance. If we had a work conversation [on the commute home] … we would leave it in the car.

“I was conscious that family and life has to come first, so we had to have some ground rules. It is one thing working with your wife, it is another thing working with your wife and your father-in-law.”

The ground rules established, Mr Leggat signed up. He joined as head of sales and commercial and was handed a wide remit, from reviewing the global sales network to supporting spirit planning.

“I looked at the numbers, looked at the opportunity and realised, goodness me, Douglas Laing has potential written all over it,” he said.

That was five years ago and since then Mr Leggat said the firm has begun to realise the potential he saw.

It hiked operating profits 40 per cent to

£2.4 million in its last financial year, and has been growing sales at least 20 per cent a year as it has devoted more attention to the major whisky markets of the US, Taiwan, Japan and Central Europe.

However, the demands on the team have been high. Moves have been made to strengthen the senior leadership team with Mr Leggat and Cara both invited to join the board, he as commercial director and his wife as director of whisky, responsible for all brand marketing.

It was a different role for Mr Leggat, focused more on the bottom line and covering the nuts and bolts of running a business such as legal and banking issues.

Ultimately, it prepared him for his appointment as chief executive earlier this year. That move has allowed Fred Laing to scale down his activities, though he continues to play a prominent role at the firm, with the distillery project a key focus.

The plan is to base the entire Douglas Laing operation there, including its head office, bottling line, warehousing, and perhaps a bar and restaurant.

With final, detailed plans about to be submitted to Glasgow City Council, it is hoped the distillery will be up and running in autumn next year.

“That project is now full steam ahead,” Mr Leggat said. “We’re in a good place with planning. It looks amazing.”