Halewood Co-founder dies
Eileen Halewood, co-shareholder and founder with her son John, of Halewood Vintners, which became Halewood International Holdings, has died at the age of 87. She took a great interest in the business and was well known to many Halewood customers.
Mr Cognac personality
Passionate Cognac lover and expert, Salvatore "The Maestro" Calabrese, one of the world’s leading bartenders and whose performance arena is the glamorous Salvatore at Fifty in London’s St James's, has been awarded International Cognac Personality of the Year by the BNIC.
Craig Wallace
Craig Wallace is a Diageo Malt Whisky Specialist, he talks about his contribution to The Managers’ Choice bottlings – Diageo's first single cask collection of limited edition single malt Scotch whiskies
• Read the interview
Joy Spence
Wray & Nephew master blender Joy Spence, who has created many of the
rums in the Appleton Jamaica Rum family, has the distinction of being the
first woman to hold the position of master blender in the industry.
"To be a good blender you must be a sensory expert, have an artistic and creative flair, have a good understanding of the chemistry of the process, have attention to detail and have a passion for the art," she says
Joy is married with two children and when not at work creating new rums she enjoys gardening and doing technical research. She is also a director of the Jamaica Bureau of Standards Foundation.
• Read her story
John Ramsey
John Ramsey retires as Gordon Motion
takes over as master blender for The Famous Grouse
Gordon Motion
The new master blender for Scotland's top-selling blended whisky.
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Keith Law on how he became a master blender Keith Law, Diageo’s master blender, is celebrating 30 years in the whisky business. He is, as you’d expect, passionate about whisky and the entire production process. He talks to Felicity Murray about his career, his work and what it takes to become a whisky blender Keith believes his science background has been a huge benefit. It has helped his understanding of the origins of the various sensory notes, and the effects of different casks on whisky in the ageing process. But, he says, this knowledge can be also learned and built up though working in different areas – inventory control, for example. |
| New master blender for Courvoisier Patrice Pinet is the new president and master blender at Courvoisier. He has worked at the Cognac distillery in Jarnac for more than 20 years and been an integral member of the blending committee since 2004. He recently was instrumental in the creation of L’Essence de Courvoisier, launched this month. Patrice replaces Jean Marc Olivier who retires after 22 years as master blender. Patrice says: “Having worked closely with Jean Marc for many years, I am delighted to be president and master blender of Courvoisier. “I started working for Courvoisier as manager of the bottling plant and later as operations and spirit purchasing director so I have a thorough knowledge of the distillery and share the passion for our cognac with the dedicated team here.” |
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| Asseline becomes Courvoisier ambassador Maxxium UK has appointed Rébecca Asseline as its new brand ambassador for Courvoisier. Rébecca, a French national with over 10 years experience in the drinks industry, is to educate the trade about the brand to drive listings across the premium range, including XO, Initial Extra, Succession J.S and L’Esprit, as well as raise the profile of Courvoisier Exclusif, a VSOP Cognac specifically blended for mixing. |
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G&J Greenall appoint marketing director Scott Watson, former general manager of Moet-Hennessy in central and eastern Europe, has taken up the role as marketing director at G & J Greenall. He will oversee the marketing and communication platforms for newly repackaged Greenall’s London Dry Gin, the Greenall's gin ready-to-drink range, the super-premium Bloom gin and Cristalnaya Vodka. |
| Skills passed on to next generation master blender for leading Scotch whisky brands John Ramsay, master blender for The Edrington Group – the international premium spirits company – is retiring at the end of July 2009. After a two and half year handover, Gordon Motion, is finally taking over the role. He will look after the company’s whisky portfolio, including The Glenrothes, two of the world’s most renowned single malts: The Macallan and Highland Park and Scotland’s No. 1 whisky for nearly 30 years, The Famous Grouse. The position of master blender is unquestionably one of the most important and complex roles held in the whisky industry, highlighted by the fact that only six such positions exist across all of the major Scottish distillers. • Read about the whisky masters |
| Tomas Estes talks about the "wild and edgy" spirit Felicity Murray asks the restaurateur and ambassador for tequila in Europe about vintages, terroir and his passion for all things Mexican Having launched his own brand of tequila, Muestra Numero Ocho (recipe number eight) last Autumn, Estes is upbeat about the future of tequila, a spirit he describes as “the bad boy or outlaw - wild and edgy”. • Download a PDF of the full story. Watch the launch party video |
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“My love for tequila started with my love for Mexico. To me, tequila is Mexico and Mexico is tequila – they are inextricably linked in both their identities and their images. I have loved Mexico for as long as I can remember and have loved tequila since 1960 when, clandestinely at the age of 15, I had my first illicit tequila experience.” So how did this love affair with Mexican food and drink begin? “My father took me to Mexico when I was a kid,” explains Estes. “I recall seeing all the signs in Spanish and thinking it was so foreign and so exciting. To me Mexican life seemed so immediate and real compared with life in the US which I find artificial, materialistic and status conscious - like living in the head rather than the heart and soul.” |
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Beer lover's book in aid of charity World renowned drinks writers have collaborated to write a book (without fees) in aid of charity to honour the legendary beer and whisky author Michael Jackson, who died in August 2007 aged 65. Michael had suffered from Parkinson’s disease for over a decade. Beer Hunter, Whisky Chaser is available from Classic Expressions and all proceeds will be donated to the Parkinson’s Disease Society of the UK. The costs of publication were sponsored by The Glenlivet, a Chivas Brothers brand. |
David Stewart awarded for lifetime achievement David has overseen the distiller’s award-winning range of single malts and blends and been responsible for a number of industry firsts, earning him some of whisky’s top accolades and helping William Grant & Sons become Distiller of the Year an unprecedented three times in a row. His key achievements include the development of The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old - the first single malt to be finished in different woods and Glenfiddich 15 Year Old, the first single malt created using Solera maturation system. |
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William Grant & Sons’ award-winning malt master and master blender, David Stewart, at The Balvenie Distillery in Speyside |
Golf Champion blends limited edition Scotch Sandy Hyslop, Ballantine’s master blender has created a “championship blend” to celebrate the brand’s 180th birthday with the help of Graeme McDowell, the winner of the inaugural Ballantine’s golf championship last year. |
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Golfing and blending "champ" Graeme McDowell “This is a first not only for Ballantine’s but across the entire Chivas Brothers portfolio,” said Hyslop, Ballantine’s master blender about McDowell'a involvement. “It is one of the rarest blends I’ve ever created and contains some of the oldest samples from our inventory of over six million casks of ageing whisky. For example, we included two very old grain whiskies from Strathclyde and Dumbarton, the latter distillery no longer in production. Although the age stated on the bottle is 35 years, there are older whiskies contained in the blend.” |
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