Spotlight on Dewar's Aberfeldy Distillery's, Matthew
April 28, 2021 by cs-ilck
About my role… As the Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery Brand Ambassador I have the pleasure of welcoming guests from all over the world to the Aberfeldy brand home and our northern distilleries; Aultmore, Craigellachie, Royal Brackla and The Deveron. My role heads up the advocacy team and supports both the visitor centre and global brand team, focusing on immersive whisky education for VIP customers, bartenders and employees from around the globe. My goal is making guests as passionate as I am about our whisky and brands by the end of their visit – which isn’t difficult once they’ve tasted our amazing range and heard the fantastic stories that surround each of them.
What I enjoy about my job… no two days are the same, and that’s something I love about the role. One day I can be mixing-up cocktails with some of Spain’s top bartenders in our ‘secret bar’ at Aberfledy, and the next day discussing our famous ‘Worm Tub’ condensers with Japanese journalists during a tour of Craigellachie distillery. I’m originally from the village of Craigellachie, which lies at at the centre of the Speyside region, so it gives me a real sense of pride to share my passion for the whisky industry and what we do.
What makes Aberfeldy special… For me there’s no other distillery visitor centre quite like it. At the time of my first visit to the distillery I was working for a rival whisky company and planned to stop in for a quick look in passing, but 4 hours later I was still there! There’s so much to see and do at the distillery, and It doesn’t matter if you’re a complete novice or a seasoned connoisseur, there’s something for you. I’m a big nerd when it comes to the history of whisky, and the museum experience blew me away on that first visit. There are so many interesting artefacts (my favourite being one of Robert Burns’ beautifully etched writing tables, which later belong to Tommy Dewar) and fantastic stories about the Dewar family and brand history. It’s not just me who recognised how amazing the experience is, as it won ‘Scotland’s Best Visitor Attraction’ in the 2018 awards.
What exciting things are coming up for myself and Aberfeldy… The next few months are an exciting and busy time for me and my team in advocacy as lots of guests want to visit the distillery during the traditionally short window known as the “Scottish summer”. As for the distillery itself, we’ve just launched a brand new Aberfeldy 20-year-old Exceptional cask that’s exclusive to the distillery and limited to only 618 bottles. It’s a real gem, being finished for 4 years in a single sherry butt and bottled at cask strength – definitely worth stopping in for that alone!
Did you know…? One of the main reasons for the distillery’s location is its water source known as the Pitilie burn. Historically it was a great spot for gold panning and today is said to be laced with illuvial gold, helping create the whiskies unique character. For this reason, Aberfeldy single malt gets the nick name ‘The Golden Dram’.
