An audience with Balvenie and David Stewart

Want to know about David Stewart and his role with Balvenie / William Grant and Sons?  Read on….

If you’re an employer or in charge of Human Resources, you’ll be aware of the dynamic and shifting nature of your workforce in recent years.  Being Generation X myself, it was drummed into me that you should show loyalty to your employer and stick around.  We were constantly told by the Baby Boomer generation above us that “your CV will look more impressive and you’ll be rewarded if you’ve demonstrated that you stay at the one place for five to ten years.”

This is in stark contrast to the Gen Y and Millenial approach, where the thinking seems to be that a CV littered with multiple positions and experience gained across a many different roles and jobs is the more attractive pursuit.

So with that as context, what do we make of an employee who sticks with his boss for 54 years?  What do we make of a role and a career that has outlasted many people’s lives, let alone most people’s professional undertakings?  Such is the story and the appeal of Mr David Stewart of Balvenie.

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The three stages of your attitude to Glenfiddich: Like – Hate – Love

Catchy article title, eh? Not sure my former editor would approve of it – it’s hardly a flowing headline.  But there’s not really a more succinct way to say it.  I’ll elaborate:  It’s my opinion that whisky drinkers all go through three very distinct stages in their appreciation of Glenfiddich.   And, depending on what stage you’re up to, this tremendously impacts your attitude to Glenfiddich.   Curious?  Let’s look into this…

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Kininvie – The distillery emerges…

Like so many other aspects of the whiskysphere in recent years, there are entities or processes that have been around for a long time, but simply weren’t well known. The internet, combined with a booming market, have resulted in many industry secrets or hidden jewels coming to light.  Distilleries are one such example – if there wasn’t a commercial release available (or widely distributed) on the market, consumers simply didn’t know it existed.  Ailsa Bay, Inchgower, Allt-a-bhaine, etc, are all examples of distilleries that most whisky drinkers simply haven’t heard of, despite the fact they’ve been around for many years.   Kininvie is another example, although that’s now all changing, courtesy of its whiskies suddenly being thrust into the limelight.

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Some special drams from the house of William Grant & Sons

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of William Grant & Sons.  As I’ve penned in numerous articles and blog posts previously, it’s not just their whiskies, but also their people, and how they move & operate in the whisky world.   Courtesy of the good folks at WG&S Australia (thanks Mark, Laura & Richard), I recently experienced yet another great example of this.

Ludo Ducrocq would be known to many whisky drinkers around the world as one of the most knowledgeable, likeable and agreeable brand ambassadors.  Ludo started out as a distillery tour guide for William Grant & Sons, but his passion for whisky and his love for telling other people about it quickly saw him move into more ambassadorial roles.  In 2009, he was appointed as Grants’ first Global Ambassador (for the Grants’ range of blended whiskies), and today works with the title of “Head of Brand Ambassador Advocacy”.  In other words, he’s the Brand Ambassador to the Brand Ambassadors!

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Balvenie Tun 1509

The Balvenie continues to go from strength to strength as owners, William Grant & Sons, continue to showcase their wares.     As someone who’s both watched and even participated in the growth of their brands in Australia over the last 15 years or so (in a former life, I presented a couple of Glenfiddich & Balvenie tasting events for the local distributor at the time), it’s been fascinating to see the brands take on even more depth and gain traction in the local market, now that WG&S have their own Australian operation.  The recent launch of the Balvenie Tun 1509 raise the bar further…

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