It’s been a while since we profiled your brand reps – aka business development managers and executives etc. to give them a couple of their official titles.
Some might say it’s been too long. So here’s the final of our first ten, and we enjoyed catching up with them so much and there are so many of you doing a similarly grand job, we’re going to feature reps every month. Get in touch if you want to be included.
Calum Fraser
Premium Spirits Specialist
William Grant & Sons
UK
Calum, 34, has been with Wm Grant & Sons for three years and worked throughout the pandemic. He handles brands such as Discarded, Ailsa Bay, and low-alcohol brand Atopia, and Calum was first recruited as part of Wm Grant’s 1887 on-trade advocacy programme.
Originally from Linlithgow, he went to University in Edinburgh where he studied journalism but thought better of a career as a hack after the ‘large scale cuts the industry suffered around 2005.’ Journalism’s loss was hospitality’s gain, and before his time at William Grant, he ran The Finnieston in Glasgow and worked at Edinburgh’s Balmoral Hotel.
How has the pandemic changed his role?
“It’s changed the face of what we do dramatically now that so much of it is done digitally.
“The role is about relationship building. We are the touchstones between brands and the bars but this situation robbed us of the spontaneity of the job and you can’t replace the personal touch.
“Digital obviously has its advantages. It will continue to play its part in allowing bars that are not central or in city hubs to have more access to brand ambassadors for virtual training and tasting sessions or if a portfolio of bars in one group are dotted about.
“Plus it’s not the easiest thing in the world to get bartenders to come in for a couple of hours all at the same time! So in that sense, it’s a great tool.”
So how has it been working since the restrictions began easing for some of us and how has he found dealing with people again?
“There’s a lot of optimism and frustration around. A lot of people feel the hospitality industry has been railroaded, but we have an amazing industry filled with amazing people and we will bounce back.”
Trade charities The Drinks Trust and The BEN Scotland will receive all the funds from the next William Grant & Sons #STANDFAST Campaign event – a charity auction, which will see the family-owned company put their largest-ever archive under the gavel in support of hospitality workers impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The auction sees a range of biddable items including rare and aged liquids, physical and virtual experiences, merchandise and unique memorabilia, bartenders essentials, as well as ‘one-offs’ and exclusives.
Hosted by Whisky.Auction from 19th – 28th July, the catalogue will feature items and experiences from Hendrick’s Gin, Glenfiddich, The Balvenie, Sailor Jerry, Tullamore D.E.W., Grant’s, Drambuie, Ailsa Bay and Reyka Vodka, As well as the proceeds going to the two charities the registration fees will also be donated.
Bidders will be able to get their hands on a Monkey Shoulder cocktail Konga Shaker, sets of Tullamore D.E.W. tumbler glasses, jiggers and Sailor Jerry cocktail shaker kits, whilst collectors can also court the unattainable, off-market items, such as a bottle of Glenfiddich Winter Storm – 21-Year-Old – Batch 1 and a hand-crafted Morgan vintage-style sports car from The Balvenie and special aged liquids for the dedicated spirits connoisseurs. In-person experiences include a rare opportunity for the curious to visit the Hendrick’s Gin Palace in Scotland and meet Master Distiller Leslie Gracie, a raffle prize of an at-home cocktail party with the impressive Monkey Shoulder mixer truck, as well as getting shoulder to shoulder with Malt Master David C. Stewart MBE at The Balvenie Blending Lab.
Created to help get bartenders back to work and support the On Trade, the #STANDFAST Campaign has seen William Grant & Sons UK donating to emergency funds via The Drinks Trust and The BEN Scotland, rewarding creativity and passions at home with its Difford’s Guide ‘Bartenders @ Home’ initiative, raising significant additional funds through the Reyka Runners Hospo Half running event, as well as supplying millions of litres of ethanol for hand sanitiser production.
Neil Barker, Managing Director, William Grant & Sons UK & Ireland, commented, “Extraordinary times demand extraordinary solutions. The Hospitality industry continues to face unprecedented challenges, and we are delighted to stand shoulder to shoulder with The Drinks Trust and The BEN in Scotland to alleviate hardship. There is something for everyone in this unique collection of items, experiences and liquids, and we hope to raise a significant amount of money for these great causes.”
Chris Gardner, CEO The BEN in Scotland said, “It’s heart-warming to have received such support from leading spirits brands for workers who’ve seen significant impacts to their livelihoods. We are grateful to see such best-loved brands stepping up and bringing our community together in such a time of need.”
Ross Carter, CEO of The Drinks Trust, added, “This auction comes at a time where the drinks and hospitality industry is in need of assistance more than ever. We are truly grateful to William Grant & Sons for creating this one-of-a-kind #STANDFAST Charity Auction, which is set to deliver much-needed support to our industry which has been affected by the pandemic like no other.”
All items in the catalogue will go live for preview on 15th July. Registration to bid is £5 with all proceeds contributing to the auction donation total for The Drinks Trust and The BEN Scotland, as well as raffle entry to win an at-home cocktail party with the Monkey Shoulder mixer truck. Visit http://Whisky.Auction to pre-register.
In an effort to tackle counterfeiting in the UK spirits market, William Grant & Sons has launched a Scotch which can be traced from source-to-bottle on a blockchain.
Ailsa Bay whisky has partnered with blockchain tech company arc-net to release a range of whiskies that allow customers to track their whisky from source to store, ensuring authenticity and traceability.
Ailsa Bay undergoes micro-maturation in small Hudson whiskey casks. The distillery collects data from parent company William Grant & Sons’ existing data sources, including cask types, filling dates and bottling dates are all tracked, which allows consumers to trace the individual components of the whisky and safeguard against fakes.
A blockchain is a list of records, called blocks, which are linked using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash (or digital fingerprint) of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. By design, blockchains are resistant to modification, making them a useful way for manufacturers to provide certification for their products. The blockchain technology also allows Ailsa Bay to gather data from existing and potential customers, using mobile location services to correlate where the whisky is being purchased.
Just under £220 million is lost from the UK economy each year because of counterfeit wines and spirits entering the market, according to a recent report from the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
At the end of 2016, fake Scotch whisky bottles worth close to a total £1 million were removed from the market.
William Grant & Sons has launched Ailsa Bay, a new single malt whisky from the Ailsa Bay Distillery.
Ailsa Bay is a state-of-the-art distillery created in 2007. It was initally built to combine the purpose of increasing capacity and supply of malt whisky for blending and growing demand, plus the capacity to develop a new style of peated whisky. With its unique advanced technologies and precise controls, the distillery allowed Master Blender Brian Kinsman and his team the ability to isolate and control more elements from the initial distillation, to the maturation process, which enabled optimal control over the type and quality of liquid produced. Rarely will a Master Blender be able to exercise more control of his craft and, at the same time, be given such space and encouragement to innovate.
Peter Gordon, Director of William Grant & Sons the visioner behind the project comments,“With Ailsa Bay, we wanted to create a very heavily peated whisky with all of the sweetness and smokiness we could muster, but also dial down on some of the medicinal notes that characterise some peated whiskies.”
He continues, “Ailsa Bay is a testament to our whisky-making expertise and the skills of our Master Blender Brian Kinsman. We invest heavily in keeping the innovation conveyor belt going. Hopefully, we can do this in a pioneering way that respects the traditions that our family has passed down through the generations.”
Master Blender Brian Kinsman comments, “Ailsa Bay Distillery has allowed us to do something extremely special. Using our precision distilling methods and a special process for cask maturation, I am able to carefully control the outcome of the whisky. With Ailsa Bay, I took exceptional peated malt and ex Baby Bourbon Hudson casks to create a whisky with a balance of smoke and sweetness, to occupy a new space on the flavour map.”
Alwynne Gwilt, the founder and editor of the the Miss Whisky website http://www.misswhisky.com, has joined William Grant & Sons UK as Whisky Specialist for the Ancient Reserves portfolio of whiskies.
Alwynne’s focus will be on some of the most prestigious whiskies in the William Grant & Sons UK portfolio, including The Girvan Patent Still, William Grant & Sons Rare Cask Reserves, Kininvie and the soon-to-be-launched, Ailsa Bay.
Throughout her career Alwynne has been involved with consulting and training in the whisky sector, earning her a place within the ‘Top 10 Women in Whisky’ and was named ‘International Whisky Ambassador of the Year’ at the Spirit of Speyside Festival in 2013.
Alwynne Gwilt said, “I fell in love with whisky during a tasting at Milroy’s whisky shop in Soho back in 2008 and it has been my passion ever since. I am looking forward to working with like-minded people who share the same respect for whisky as I do and my ambition is to encourage more people to gain an appreciation for this fine spirit.”
Jonathan Cornthwaite, Senior Brand Manager for the http://www.williamgrant.com William Grant & Sons UK Esoteric Whisky portfolio said, “At William Grant & Sons UK, whisky is in our DNA, so it is with great pleasure that we welcome Alwynne, with her wealth of unique experience. Alwynne is a great addition to the team and will help drive forward the William Grant & Sons UK Ancient Reserves portfolio.”