WHEN he first started work at the family-run whisky giant William Grant, Harold MacMillan was prime minister, the world was on the brink of nuclear war and the average house price was just £2,670.
It was 1962 and the first James Bond film had just been released while The Beatles scored their first number one with Love Me Do.
Now, 60 years on, The Balvenie distillery in Dufftown has announced a a year of celebration to mark David Stewart becoming the longest-serving malt master in the industry’s history.
He began his journey at family-owned, independent distillers William Grant & Sons in 1962 as a whisky stocks clerk, writing ledgers and managing invoices.
Mr Stewart then embarked on a 12-year journey to become a master blender in 1974.
Since then, he has personally overseen the distiller’s award-winning range of single malts and blends such as The Balvenie, Glenfiddich and Grants during his time.
Born in Ayr in 1945, Mr Stewart has developed a vast knowledge and skills while at the helm of the distillers.
One of his key achievements has been overseeing the production of award-winning whiskies and the development of an developed a new whisky-making techniques that has , which have been adopted industry wide to critical acclaim.
The technique that he pioneered, One of his key achievements at the helm is was pioneering a new whisky-making technique, cask finishing, which has transformed how flavour is created in whisky.
His technique, which is now widely used across the world, is to leave the spirit left to rest in American oak bourbon casks for at least 12 years before then being transferred to European sherry oak casks for a few months to create a long and warming finish.
This is said to add a layer of uniqueflavour that cannot be achieved in whisky by any other means.
As a malt master, Mr Stewart oversees the creation of all whiskies for The Balvenie and uses his thoroughly trained nose to maintain the consistency of the whiskies y’s produced by the distillery.
He also oversees the work of the new malt masters from William Grant & Sons, having worked closely with Glenfiddich’s Malt Master Brian Kinsman and the Balvenie’s Apprentice Malt Master, Kelsey McKechnie.
Mr Stewart said: “The Balvenie holds a special place in my heart, and I am proud to have spent the better half of my life working at the distillery.
“Whisky making is what I am passionate about, and I feel honoured to have been given the reigns to create and experiment over the past 60 years.
“I enjoy passing my knowledge and stories on to Kelsey to continue building the legacy that makes The Balvenie what it is.”
Over the years, Mr Stewart has been awarded many accolades including International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC) recognition for Outstanding Achievement in the Scotch Whisky Industry.
He was also given the Icon of Whisky Award by Whisky Magazine in 2009 and the IWSC’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.
He was honoured as an MBE in 2016 for services to the whisky industry, which he received from the Queen.
Ms McKechnie said: “Sitting down with David and learning what flavours it is that you pick up and how do you balance out these characters, how do you intensify a sherry note and the sherbet tingle that you get on your nose – you can’t pick that up from a book at all.
“I love being being able to know how we carry out the analysis on our fermentations and on the distillation profiles, and being able to have that insight is something that I enjoy.
“But, when it comes to nosing and tasting, setting up the blends, it’s like the first day at the big school.
“David releases all these little nuggets of information, I think, when he doesn’t realise it. His openness always strikes me.
“After I moved into this team, he’s just been so down to earth – you can talk about anything.
“I feel extremely privileged to have learned from David over the past five years as I undergo my apprenticeship with The Balvenie. David is an incredibly knowledgeable and patient man, and a living whisky legend.”
The Balvenie will kick off a year of celebrations around the world for Mr Stewart with more details to be revealed in due course.
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