WINE merchant Inverarity Morton has unveiled a major rebrand of its bottle shop at the Bonnie & Wild foodhall in Edinburgh.

The investment follows “a successful two years of trade and collaboration” between the two parties and is said to underline the wholesaler’s commitment to the food and drink destination, which opened in July 2021.

Bonnie & Wild is based at St James Quarter and is home to 12 independent food stalls and retailers, including Creel Caught by Gary Maclean, Salt & Chilli by Jimmy Lee, Chooks, El Perro Negro, east PIZZAS, Kochchi, Joelato, Leith Woks, Stack & Still, Scottish deli Soup & Caboodle, and Cairngorm Coffee, as well as the Rarity bottle shop.

Inverarity, which was formed in 2011 through the merger of William Morton and Inverarity Morton, said its new investment underscores the “great synergy and commercial potential” between the two businesses. The wholesaler supplies wine to all three of the bars and bottle shop at Bonnie & Wild.

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Steve Annand, sales, and marketing director of Inverarity Morton, said: “Rarity is an exciting and natural evolution of the boutique bottle shop and builds on a successful two years of trade and collaboration within Bonnie & Wild’s Scottish Marketplace.”

Ryan Barrie, managing director at Bonnie & Wild, said: “The new collaborative brand Rarity demonstrates the great synergy and commercial potential that we have with Inverarity Morton.

“As well as a consumer-friendly and market-leading retail element, Rarity is all about the experience and engagement, and it will fully utilise the beautiful events spaces within Bonnie & Wild through exclusive tastings, talks, training, launches and meet the makers. Like everyone within the Bonnie & Wild marketplace, Rarity is all about celebrating Scottish produce, and getting close to the people behind the food and drink our guests are enjoying.

“More niche and sought-after whiskies will now have a broader access to market and an audience way beyond your traditional whisky shop, while that same audience will be able to access events more often put on inside those same shops. It’s a win-win for all involved.”

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Rarity has recently unveiled its first wave of events for the run-up to Christmas, which will see distillers and producers from across the country assemble for tastings, talks, and opportunities for consumers to meet the makers. A string of “high-profile and highly sought-after releases” from distillers will be made available, including the Macallan Harmony and expressions from Bowmore, GlenAllachie, Springbank, Longrow, Hazelburn, Isle of Raasay, and Lochlea.

Mr Barrie added: “Bonnie & Wild has already hosted a series of high-profile whisky events, such as the launch of the Bowmore Aston Martin Masters’ Selection whisky, and indeed many other high-profile launches and tastings. This is something we’re looking forward to doing much more of as Rarity grows.”