Alwynne joined as The Balvenie Ambassador in the UK in January 2017 after working as the Whisky Specialist at William Grant and Sons UK throughout 2016. Prior to this, she ran the well-known blog Miss Whisky, hosted whisky tastings globally, and consulted for numerous whisky companies. While she has been based in the UK for 15 years, the Canadian-born and raised Gwilt is still fond of maple syrup and moose.
As ambassador for The Balvenie what does your day to day look like?
The day varies massively depending on whether I’m doing events in person, virtually or having an admin and planning day. Before the pandemic, I was on the road constantly but that naturally had to take a backseat over the last 18 months as we navigated totally new waters. I now do a combination of virtual tastings, in person launch events – such as our recent takeover in Harvey Nichols in which we collaborated with Chef Emily Roux to host a series of pairing dinners in honour of our new 25 year old whisky – education for bartenders on both The Balvenie and whisky in general, and content filming. I’m also a trained yoga instructor, so I look to integrate wellness into my sessions, with videos on yoga and mindfulness for the on-trade, to help them balance out often very stressful and tiring work lives.
Tell us your career story – how did you get to where you are?
I have had a bit of a different route into the brand ambassador world than many others out there, having initially started my career in journalism in Canada where I wrote for newspapers, magazines and trained as a broadcast journalist. A chance opportunity to work for the national newspaper in London led me overseas in 2007, and I’ve been in the UK ever since. I fell in love with whisky after moving to these shores, and that passion led me to leave my job as a financial journalist and set up a blog called Miss Whisky – it was ten years ago, and I was the first female whisky blogger here in the UK, with the aim of making the world of whisky more accessible to a wider audience. After a number of years writing about whisky for the blog and magazines globally, alongside consulting for whisky brands and hosting events around the world, I took on the role of a brand ambassador for William Grant & Sons, initially as its Whisky Specialist and then as the UK BA for The Balvenie. I’d long loved The Balvenie, as it was one of the very first distilleries I was lucky enough to go to, so it was an absolute honour to take on the role.
What do you like most about your job?
I love when I get the opportunity to share stories with people about The Balvenie and whisky, leading them to feel inspired enough to maybe try more whisky or even to like it in the first place. The whisky industry can feel intimidating for many beginners, and it’s always my goal to showcase how accessible it can be, and inspire others. I also love doing brand collaborations, such as our Makers Project with the brilliant Michael Kiwanuka and Tishk Barzanji, and working with incredible chefs, such as Emily Roux and previously, her father Michel Roux Jr. I always am inspired by other people’s passions, and it’s a fantastic feeling being able to collaborate with others.
Tell us about the new Balvenie Stories collection? What inspired it?
At The Balvenie we are lucky to work with an incredible array of rare characters who often choose to spend their entire career of 30, 40 or 50 years plus working with us. The idea behind the Stories collection, was to showcase some of the stories behind the making of interesting whiskies – experiments such as when we started making peated, or smokey, whisky, or tested out burning heather in the kiln when drying barley. The team is constantly innovating and with so many years of experience, often have a number of brilliant stories to tell. The series showcases the people, their stories, their endeavours and their dedication to the craft that goes into every bottle of The Balvenie. It allows us to ensure those stories aren’t lost to time, but celebrated and honoured.
Tell us about The Tale of the Dog, The Balvenie's latest release...
The Tale of the Dog is an exceptionally rare whisky, a 42-year old that harkens from a time when things were done slightly differently at the distillery. It revolves around the story of our famed coppersmith Dennis (the Menace) McBain who as a young lad was asked on one of his first shifts to flatten a copper dog found in the pocket of one of the workers by the manager. A dog was a copper tube hung on a string, used by workers to illegally swipe whisky from the cask. When workers went off to sneak about the warehouses to top up their daily rations, it was known as ‘walking the dog’. But it was also obviously not allowed. Dennis flattened this dog as was requested by his boss, and the boss popped the destroyed object back in the pocket of the worker to let him know that he’d been caught – but without firing him! Dennis of course was very young and had no idea what he’d been asked to do, only that he needed to listen to his boss or else! Good thing he did, as he went on to spend over 50 years at the distillery and still joins us at events to this day!
Which are the showstopper expressions from the Stories Collection?
Each year we release a very limited edition whisky in the collection, which has been the result of an interesting trial or experiment behind the scenes. Whiskies such as The Day of Dark Barley 26 – the result of one batch of whisky made with chocolate, or heavily roasted malt – and The Edge of Burnhead Wood 19 – our first whisky made entirely from home grown, home malted barley dried over burning heather – are fascinating glimpses into the innovation that the team are always curiously trying out behind the scenes. Then you have limited editions such as this year’s Tale of the Dog 42 year old, which is an absolute showstopper!
If you personally had to pick one liquid as your favourite from the collection, which would it be?
I always struggle to pick favourites as I love different whiskies at different times of the year. However, if I had to, I think the flavour profile of the Day of Dark Barley 26 fits my personal palate best – I genuinely went silent the first time I tried it in front of a crowd on launch day. It left me speechless which is a hard thing to muster as I talk a lot as a Canadian!
What upcoming releases or projects are you most excited for?
I adore what we’ve done on the brand with our Makers Project and I can’t wait to see how it evolves. Our recent event at The Barbican was a real showstopping moment for the brand and, because I’ve been lucky enough to work with The Balvenie over the past eight years, I could see how this new project really showcased the whisky to a new audience. I look forward to seeing how we continue to work with inspiring makers such as Michael and Tishk, who blow me away every time I get the chance to speak with them.
And finally, what is your favourite luxury for under £10?
Great question! I would say a really good eye mask, as I struggle to sleep with any light pollution, so it’s helped me on planes, trains, and in hotels as I’ve travelled about as a BA. I always had one in my handbag when away from home as you never know when you might be able to get an extra 15 minutes of snoozing time in! That and a good, old fashioned, paperback book. Sorted!
Today The Balvenie announces the release of The Tale of the Dog, the latest addition to the coveted Balvenie Stories range — a collection of single malt whiskies representing tales of character, endeavour and generational knowledge gathered at The Balvenie Distillery in Dufftown, Scotland by its craftsmen.
www.thebalvenie.com