Georgie Bell sets up a whiskey bottling plant

Ex-Bacardi director Georgie Bell is co-founder of The Heart Cut, which aims to offer a ‘fresh take’ on the independent bottling company.

Bell, who has also held positions at Diageo and the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society (SMWS), founded The Heart Cut with her husband, Fabrizio Leoni.

The independent bottling company aims to collaborate with whiskey distilleries from around the world on limited single cask releases.

Released periodically throughout the year, each cask has been chosen in collaboration with a partner distillery, with the aim of telling the story behind the people, origins and ‘distinctive flavours’ found in production.

The Heart Cut focuses on providing accessible bottle designs with the intention of moving away from traditional whiskey branding. The bottles contain ‘easy to digest’ barrel information and tasting notes for both beginners and experts.

The Heart Cut currently offers six whiskeys from Denmark’s Stauning Distillery, East London Liquor Co (ELLC), Finland’s Kyrö Distillery, Tel Aviv’s Milk & Honey, American distiller Few Spirits and England’s Cotswolds Distillery.

The selection includes a 52% ABV whiskey from Stauning finished in a Madeira cask, a rye whiskey from ELLC, a 100% malt rye whiskey from Kyrö, a single malt from Milk & Honey matured in a pomegranate wine barrel, a Few Spirits rye whiskey aged for three years in a Sauternes cask and a single malt from Cotswolds Distillery.

Prices for the limited edition whiskeys start from £57 (US$71) and can be purchased via The Heart Cut website, The Whiskey Exchange and bars across the UK.

Georgie Bell holds the position of CEO at The Heart Cut, while Leoni leads the operational side of the business as Chief Operating Officer.

Bell previously served as head of advocacy for Bacardi’s incubation brands and drove global brand advocacy strategy for whisky. She joined the company in 2016 as a Global Malts Ambassador.

Before joining Bacardi, Bell was the luxury malts ambassador for Diageo’s Mortlach whiskey and previously ambassador and international brand manager at the SMWS.

Bell is also a Keeper of the Quaich, a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Distillers and has a diploma in distilling.

She also co-founded OurWhisky, which aims to showcase the diversity of whiskey drinkers.

Leoni started his career in cocktail bars in London before moving into marketing at drinks agency Sweet & Chilli. He has also worked at iD and Seed, as a senior project manager.

WSET appointment

Bell also recently joined the board of directors of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), replacing Kirsten Grant Meikle in the role.

“I have always valued beverage education,” Bell says. “It has been instrumental in shaping my career, and my WSET qualifications, particularly my Level 3 Award in Spirits, have played a huge role in this. Joining the WSET Board of Directors is a great opportunity for me to give back and support others as I have been supported.”

Other members of the board include: Lulie Halstead, Dan Jago, Sukhinder Singh, Miles Beale, Jo Thornton and Jo Locke.