HN: Why make the series now?
AG: We have been working with Michel for the past three years on The Balvenie Craftsmen’s Dinner series to spotlight true craft and over this time we have met a wide range of incredible craftspeople all across the UK in a myriad number of industries. For this year’s final series we decided to put the focus on The Balvenie since craftsmanship is so important in making it what it is.
HN: What is your involvement in it?
AG: I joined the team on-site throughout the filming and took part in the final dinner filmed at Balvenie House. As the brand ambassador, I’m always on hand to taste through whiskies, educate about the brand and explore the flavour differentiations between the whiskies in the range. I’ve worked with Michel since last year’s second series, in which I taught him a bit more about our whisky and had him choose a favourite dram for the final dinner in the last episode of the series, so it made sense for me to come back for the final episode this year. Since shooting the series, I have been hosting a number of recreations of The Craftsmen’s Dinner final meal with dozens of lucky guests alongside Michel at his restaurants in London.
HN: Craft is rising. The Balvenie is such a well-known and well-loved whisky for its human touch. How can you do this at scale?
AG: Many people associate ‘craft’ with small scale, but it is not about the size of the operation, it’s about the process. ‘True’ craft brands can attain a certain scale, but it will constrain the size of the business. The fact we do so much by hand at The Balvenie will limit our size, but having that human element involved with the making of it is important for us to retain our craft credentials.
If a business is willing to retain human skill and expertise, craft will remain at any size. It’s a wonderful sight, for instance, when you see our head cooper Ian McDonald helping to teach a new apprentice at the cooperage his skills – he’s been with us for 49 years and there’s something incredibly special in seeing his skills being passed down to new generations. The reality is a lot of companies have had to lose doing things on-site at whisky distilleries because of the sheer cost of it – floor maltings went out of fashion because they are very expensive to run. For The Balvenie, however, this is what makes us who we are, and as a family-owned company, we have a lot more control over decisions like this.
Credit: thebalvenie.com