Congratulations to our friends Mark Connelly an Matthew McFadyen, as well as a third partner I don’t believe I’ve met, Shane Goodbody, in realizing a dream that they’ve been working on for some time.  I’ll leave the details to be shared by our malt mate, Ralfy.  The following was originally posted on www.ralfy.com:

Specialist spirits store opening in Glasgow

The Good Spirits Co. have taken over premises at 23 Bath Street, which for many years housed the iconic 23rd Precinct Record Shop.

The three – Matthew McFadyen, 34, Shane Goodbody, 41 and Mark Connelly, 36 – saw the writing on the wall at Oddbins and got out before the chain crashed.

The trio say they have identified a gap in the market for quality spirits and aim to plug that gap with their new venture.

Mark Connelly, who also runs the online whisky forum whiskywhiskywhisky.com and is a partner in Glasgow’s Whisky Festival, said: “Despite all the quality spirits that many of the bars in Glasgow serve, it is virtually impossible to buy them in a shop, and absolutely impossible in the supermarkets.”

“We’ll also be focusing on education with in-store tastings, classes and events. We may not be the biggest boys on the block, but I’d like to think we were of the highest quality.”

Matthew McFadyen added: “From our time in Oddbins, and as fans of quality spirits, there was a frustration at the lack of outlets for quality products. With a growing demand for quality rum and bourbon especially, the venture is well-placed to supply the demands of a more discerning market by stocking and sourcing as wide a range of interesting spirits as we can.”

The venture will take off on May 23rd and the full UK allocation of a Berry Brothers and Rudd’s Own Selection Ledaig 2005 has been secured for this.

The store will also sell champagne, fortified wines and cigars in a specially designed walk-in humidor. Regular tasting events will run in the store as well as in a variety of bars and pubs around Glasgow.