Dennis Malcolm

THE CONSISTENT QUALITY OF GLEN GRANT

Glen Grant is a distiller of Single Malt Whisky since 1840. Based in the Scottish Highlands, they are a brand that is steeped in rich tradition, from its historic distillery site to the attitude of its master distiller, Dennis Malcolm. Malcolm started working for Glen Grant at just 15 yearsold, dedicating his life to making quality Single Malt Scotch Whisky. After being with the brand for the better part of 60 years, Malcolm is the expert on all things Glen Grant.

Explore WHISKY: It’s a remarkable story, being born in on the grounds of Glen Grant, and to work for the business for six decades. Do you have a view on how whisky making, distilling and blending, has evolved over the past 60 years?

Dennis Malcolm: Since I started work some 60 years ago the process parameters for making The Glen Grant have not changed. However, the way that the process is controlled has evolved in as much that most of the manual side of the operation has been automated, making it more interesting and far safer for the modern-day operator. I say “safer” because the cleaning of the Mash Tun/Fermenters and Stills do not require anyone to enter into these vessels to carry out this task any longer - it is all controlled by computer now. This computer automation control, in my view, has led to create an extremely consistent product, as computer programmes tend to check control parameters every second, which is impossible for the operator to do.

EW: Was there a time where you contemplated / considered leaving Glen Grant or the whisky industry?

DM: If so, was there something in particular that kept you there? I never had any intention to leave the industry that I loved being part of, however, like most young people, I wished for new challenges and to progress my career in the Industry industry and moved firstly to The Glenlivet as distillery manager for a period of four years. I then moved to the position of General Manager for the Group with responsibility for the operation of some 9 Distilleries /1 Gin Distillery / I Distillery Co-Product production plant and 3 farms. Following that, I returned to manage

operations at Glen Grant in 2006, when the Campari Group purchased it, and where I have remained to this day in the role of master distiller and am now mainly involved with the creation of new expressions and support to marketing and sales. During my time away from The Glen Grant in these different roles I gained a much broader knowledge and skills base of operating and quality parameters at different sites. This, coupled with the additional people-management-skills that I developed throughout, has been put to good use at The Glen Grant and enabled me to extend our range of expressions that our customers enjoy today.

EW: How would you describe your whisky making philosophy and how has Glen Grant shaped that?

DM: I have always strived to make the most consistent quality single malt, which embraces the profile style created by my predecessors and while never compromise compromising on quality for cost benefit.

EW: How has the whisky community changed? Are you seeing a greater interest in whisky now, compared to 10, 20 and even 30 years ago?

DM: When I started in the industry it was very much a more mature person’s thing- an evening /after dinner drink…but now it is getting huge interest from a much younger age of men and women, and this new generation has a new appreciation for the product which is always marvellous to see. We have just relaunched the product last year, and introduced a new expression, Arboralis, so it’s a great time to see the brand and category getting more attention and exposed on a global level more prominently.

EW: Are you seeing a change in the whisky drinker – are people more interested in the detail now, or maybe less so?

DM: I am seeing a very welcome change in whisky drinkers of today. First of all, I believe they are more knowledgeable and interested and curious- to know how single malts differ from distillery to distillery. I’ve seen a lot of new interest from people about half my age with many more young women taking a keen interest also – very inspiring.

EW: Has visitation increased over the years (to your distillery)? And what sort of experiences are offered at the Glen Grant distillery?

DM: I am pleased to say that the number of visitors in the last 15 years has doubled to around 20K. The uniqueness of Glen Grant helps because we can say that we go from barley in to bottle out since 2013, so the visitor can see and hear about the production / maturation /dumping and bottling and finish up with a choice of tasting two malts from our range. The visitors can also spend some time relaxing in our 27-acre Victorian garden or have a more restful time enjoying a cup of tea or coffee with friends in our Coffee coffee shop.

EW: How would you describe the Glen Grant style?

DM: Glen Grant is a typical Speyside malt, bright golden in colour being dry fruity /creamy on the nose, an explosion of ripe orchard fruits on the palate and finishing long creamy /fruity with a delicate nutty note. The standard DNA to me is slightly dry/fruity/creamy and nutty, having a long soft and lingering finish. These descriptors to me are there in every expression and when you change the cask type for different expressions other aromas and flavours come into play also.

EW: What process do you utilise to craft and select whiskies to be bottled?

DM: Before a single cask is selected for bottling any of our expressions, a sample is taken and checked for colour, aroma, and taste to ensure that we maintain consistent quality at all times. This is a pillar of everything we do - consistent quality. I repeat it all the time. We can do this, with our own bottling hall on site, and this procedure ensures that aroma and taste are always in complete harmony.

EW: Which whisky did you celebrate your OBE with? (And congratulations on the well-deserved award)

DM: I have to be honest - I did not select any particular expression because to me they are all part of my whisky family and equally important in their own way.