Company:
Diageo

Job:
Global Scotch Whisky Ambassador – Malts

Website:
malts.com

How long have you been working in the whisky
industry?
I’ve worked in the industry for ten years now, but
my family have been involved in whisky for many years. My great grandfather was
heavily involved with the whisky industry in Campbeltown, and among other
things owned Dalintober distillery and sold whisky to John Walker and Sons.

What has been your biggest career highlight to date?
Walking into the Diageo Archive, telling them my
family history and watching them run off and come back with ledgers and
blending notes, that showed whisky from my great grandfather’s distillery
Dalintober, was bought and used in blends by the Walker family.

Can you remember your first dram, and indeed what it
was?
The first dram that I can remember was a Springbank
15 Year Old that my dad shared with me.

What does whisky mean to you?
Whisky is more than a career, it’s my life. To
follow in my great grandfather’s footsteps is an honour. I have been privileged
to work with some incredible people and with some incredible brands.

Where would you like to see yourself in five years
time?
Helping to further
develop Diageo’s malt portfolio, I have been in this role for three years so I
know there is still a lot I can give.

What was your last dram?
Talisker Port Ruighe, one of the latest addition to the
Talisker family, double matured in Port casks.

Do you have a favourite whisky and food pairing
combination?
Either a Talisker with fresh oysters or frozen
Lagavulin Distillers Edition served with sticky toffee pudding. As a more
unusual combination I love Lagavulin 16 Year Old with star anise infused
shortbread.

What’s your favourite time and place to enjoy a
dram?
As I travel so much I have to be very uninspiring
and say at home with family and friends.

What do you think is going to be the next big thing
on the whisky horizon?
I’m a huge fan of the new products we’ve introduced
over the last year, like Talisker Storm and Talisker Dark Storm. Which I
know from the many people I’ve met as I travel round the world, have been
incredibly well received.

Focussing on flavour-led innovations will really
open up a new world of tastes and textures for consumers to enjoy, and it
allows our blenders (who develop all of our single malt liquids) to be at their
most creative, accessing mature stocks across a range of cask types and ages. It’s
an area where we will see more exciting developments in the years, months and
indeed weeks to come.

What’s the one dram you couldn’t live without?
I
have to be loyal to both past and present. I will always love the 10 Year Old
Springbank but I always have a bottle of Talisker 18 Year Old in the
house.  There’s a very good reason why it
was voted world’s best Single Malt in 2007!

Many
thanks to Donald Colville. Who will be the next Whisky Insider? Click back soon to
find out!