6 minute read
Ross Blainey - The Balvenie Brand Ambassador
BEHIND THE SCENES OF A WHISKY AMBASSADOR
Ever wondered what the role of a Whisky Ambassador entailed? We caught up with Ross Blainey The Balvenie brand ambassador to find out about his work life, the new releases and how he likes to enjoy a dram.
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explore Whisky: Tell us a bit about your role as The Balvenie brand ambassador, and what does it entail.
Ross Blainey: Being a brand ambassador for The Balvenie is a pretty unique and incredibly enjoyable job. It’s my job to be the link to the distillery, our whisky and our brand around Australia and New Zealand. I help people understand what we do, how we do it, why we do it and about the real people that make The Balvenie in the most fun and memorable way possible. It’s fun, but it’s a lot of work too, it’s not all just the events you see on Instagram! The travel, back of house work and long hours are more than made up for when you get to the end of an event, raise a glass and see some smiling faces.
eW: How do you educate the consumer on appreciating whisky? Is there a process you follow?
RB: Appreciating whisky can be done in so many ways. I think as long as you are respecting the whisky, the people who have made it and the many years of hard work and passion that has gone into it you can appreciate in any way you want. If someone wanted to learn a more “professional” sense of appreciation as in the tasting aspects, I’d say the best thing to do is take your time to enjoy the aromas and flavours. Don’t rush and don’t expect to be able to get all the flavours the first time. It’s all personal experience, but as long as you drink it, it tastes good, and you give a little nod to the people who put their passion into making it, I think you are appreciating it well.
eW: How do you like to describe whisky to a rum drinker and why you think it’s better?
RB: Well, I’d never say to someone that I think whisky is better. I prefer it myself but do love a wee Daiquiri every now and again. Drinking spirits is all personal preference and each to their own. Describing Scotch whisky to a rum drinker I would say that Scotch style is going to be much less sweet as it is made from malted barley. Our climate in Scotland allows us to age much longer, so the integration of many different flavours can come into play, creating a complex and rich flavour but with great balance and depth. Easing into it I’d suggest a dram of The Balvenie 14 Caribbean cask – finished in rum barrels for a little bit of sweetness and rum influence.
eW: Within your portfolio, what’s a good whisky to recommend for new drinkers to the category?
RB: I always go back to The Balvenie 12 DoubleWood. Getting into whisky can be daunting and there are so many amazing Scotch whiskies out there to try. All whiskies are built differently in flavour. Some have pointed edges which makes them tasty and unique like saltiness or smoke. Our malt master David Stewart MBE has been with us for 57 years and has his own style of balance. Complicity in flavour, rich, sweet and honeyed but a little different from the edgy ones - it’s about the roundness and balance. No sharp edges. A great intro to whisky and also a little piece in history being a key part in the pioneering of cask finishing.
eW: You’ve recently launched The Balvenie Stories. Tell us about the new range.
RB: I’ve always loved being back at the distillery and hearing the stories of what’s been going on either in years past or weeks past. This new range is about showing the stories that our distillery is built on. Stories are our lifeblood at The Balvenie, each week, year, decade having many more and all tied together with the thread of our whisky. Each of the three new whiskies tells its own story. The 12, Sweet Toast of American Oak is the story of our new apprentice malt master Kelsey McKechnie and her journey to Kentucky to find the perfect barrel toast to bring the classic flavours of our liquid that she loves to the forefront.
Ross Blainey The Balvenie brand ambassador
The 14, The Week of Peat is the story of Ian Miller our old Distillery Manager and how he took a spare week in the production schedule to bring back an old style of The Balvenie using local peat which billowed from the pagoda to spark some interest in the town.
The 26, A Day of Dark Barley tells the tale of one day in 1992 when Mashman Brian Webster and Matlman Robbie Gormley received an unexpected delivery of very special malt and had to enlist the help of the whole staff to begin the story of this unique roasted malt whisky.
eW: Describe your perfect drinking occasion for each.
RB: I really do like them all just neat and having a sip when I have a few minutes to sit down and enjoy thinking back to the story but…
I am thoroughly enjoying working with a few of the top cocktail bars around Australia in creating some beautiful concoctions. Sitting at the bar tasting and trying these cocktail is perfect for me. The 14, The Week of Peat I like to pull out after a good meal with a little bit of cheese. A nice creamy blue goes well with a bit of honey. My mouth is watering just writing this down!
The 26 has its own special time to be sipped for me. This is one where I want to appreciate the hard work that has gone into a 26 year old malt. Sitting in a comfortable spot with a good measure in a nice glass, I’d put on the podcast we have created to go along with each of The Balvenie Stories. Listening to the team at the distillery laugh and joke about the struggles they had while hearing the wind and the rain begin to come down as they chat in The Balvenie courtyard. Enjoy a dram and feel like you’re there with them.
eW: With the new range are they designed to drink neat, on the rocks or mixed / cocktail? What’s your serving suggestions?
RB: At The Balvenie, we like making whisky for people to enjoy whatever way they want to drink it. If you speak to anyone back at the distillery whether its Mhairi our Distillery Manager or Stevie in the mash room everyone will be happy that people are drinking what they work so hard to make. For me, they all work so well neat or with a couple of drops of water. Try having them alongside a few bits of cheese, charcuterie or chocolate for an added bit of decadence or maybe even try The Balvenie classic Penicillin cocktail – made with The Balvenie Doublewood and 14, The Week of Peat.
eW: If you could only save a handful of whiskies from your collection because of a fire, which ones would you grab?
RB: I don’t keep a huge collection of whisky really, I like to pop it open and share it mostly, but I do have a few there that are important for sentimental reasons. I’d definitely grab my Balvenie 30 year old which our Malt Master David Stewart signed and gave to me for my 30th birthday. I’d save a bottle of Killara Single Malt in Tasmania which I was lucky enough to help Kristy Lark decant there as it turned two years old which is pretty special to me and I have a few little sample bottles from Balvenie of all sorts of interesting liquid that I want to drink sometime!
