THE BIG INTERVIEW
DR BILL LUMSDEN
IN MORE THAN 25 YEARS AT THE GLENMORANGIE COMPANY, DR BILL LUMSDEN HAS CREATED A WEALTH OF SEMINAL WHISKIES. AND WHILE THE LAST 12 MONTHS HAVE PRESENTED CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME, HIS MAIN FOCUS REMAINS THE SAME AND THAT’S TO PRODUCE DRINKS THAT PEOPLE ENJOY AND CHERISH THE WORLD OVER.
W
e’ve all been there,
in the Scotch whisky industry stopped
I’m sure.
production for a while, including
Your taxi turned
ourselves,” he recalls. “But we swiftly
up on time, or
realised that as long as we stuck to the
public transport
protocols, and put the relevant safety
ran without a hitch. You’ve navigated through security with a breeze.
|
SUMMER 2021
Within approximately six weeks, the business was up and running once
And be it a holiday, weekend break or
more. While a number of initiatives were
even a work trip, you’re then greeted with
put on hold, the team focused on what
the comforting, warming glow of Airport
they knew best and that was producing,
Duty Free.
bottling and distributing great whisky.
A sensory overload owing to the
“Travel retail was all but wiped out, like
aroma of exotic fragrances, the sight of
it was for the rest of the industry, but
oversized Toblerone chocolate bars and
thankfully our brands are very strong
the chitter chatter from the weary and the
and when you look at off-trade sales, we
wise who are either slowly waking up for
turned in a good performance and ended
their early flight, or fighting off tiredness
up beating our original budget for the
from a long day in transit.
year,” says Dr Lumsden.
And like any good Duty Free concession, there is a beautiful visage. A myriad of
He adds: “I’d like to think we were quite
fine spirits from across the globe and, if
agile at adapting to the circumstances,
you’re lucky, the chance to sample one.
and we made it work for us. Yes, we had some exciting plans we had to delay but
So what if it’s 8am? You’re in the airport
if that’s all we’re complaining about then,
and timezones don’t exist like they do in
guess what, it was not a bad year.
the outside world. “I think we learned a lot about ourselves For many, this particular highlight of air
and as a director of the company, I’m
travel has been consigned to recent
very proud how well we all adapted to
memory. However, that time will arrive
working in these situations.”
once more, that’s for certain. Adapting to testing circumstances is one It comes as no surprise that for many
thing, but refusing to rest on your laurels
businesses in the world of spirits, travel
is something different altogether. And
retail plays an important role in their value
in his decorated career in distilling, Dr
proposition. And losing that sales channel
Lumsden has become synonymous with
is far from an ideal situation.
pushing the boundaries.
For Dr Bill Lumsden, the head of distilling
There’s a saying that goes along the lines
and whisky creation at The Glenmorangie
of “There’s no point having a mind if you’re
Company, the last 12 months in this
not prepared to change it.”
pandemic have presented a number of challenges but he’s proud how his team
The best artists, creators and producers
have not only met them head-on but
have a way of challenging our
overcome them, too.
preconceptions and in doing so, make us look at things in a different way.
“It was obviously a bit of a shock to start off with. Most of the companies
18
measures in place, then we’d be ok.”
passport control expertly then passed
And in creating Glenmorangie Signet, the
DISTILLERS JOURNAL
