Can you remember your first
dram, and indeed what it was?
My first experience was aged
18 months. My father had poured a dram and got up to get some water, whilst
doing so I managed to consume the contents of his glass. Not a good way to
start! After reaching the legal drinking age, the first whisky that I remember drinking
was The Antiquary Blend. An altogether better experience.

What does whisky mean to you?
In the last 22 years, whisky
has become a huge part of my life. There are few things more rewarding than
talking to enthusiastic consumers about quality products that you have had a
hand in producing.

Where would you like to see
yourself in five years’ time?
I would like to see myself in
a similar role to today, but with a little more emphasis on consumer relations
and education.

What was your last dram?
I am actually sitting with a 2011
Special Release Caol Ila 12 year old. It’s the unpeated one.

Do you have a favourite
whisky and food pairing combination?
Many years ago, I was lucky
enough to present a whisky and food session at Oban Distillery with Dr Jim Beveridge.
One of the pairings was Lagavulin 16 year old with chillied Biltong, and it is
a combination that I keep returning to again and again. The two complement each
other perfectly.

What’s your favourite time
and place to enjoy a dram?
I love sitting on a cold
winter evening in front of an open fire with a warming Lagavulin, being out on
a hill with a hip flask or I am just as happy enjoying a dram in the pub with a
group of friends.

What do you think is going to
be the next big thing on the whisky horizon?
Scotch whisky is in a great
place at the moment and the world is becoming increasingly aware of the quality of
our whiskies. I think that there will be an increase in the number of
distilleries within Scotland to meet current levels of demand, and that more single
malts will become available.  There will also
be increased number of whisky / whiskey distilleries throughout the world, but
competition is always welcome.

What’s the one dram you
couldn’t live without?
I consider myself to be lucky
to have come across and been involved in the production of some exquisite
single malts in my time, so this is an extremely difficult question to answer. What
I will say is that I always have a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label in my
house…