David Stewart (born 1945 in

Ayr, Scotland Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

) is the long-time

master blender A master blender is an individual who develops specific blended spirits using a combination of spirits with different characteristics. For example, in the Scotch whisky industry, master blenders choose which single malts and grain whiskies to com ...

and

malt Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as " malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. Malted grain is used to make beer, wh ...

master for

William Grant & Sons William Grant & Sons Ltd is an independent, family-owned Scottish company that distills Scotch whisky and other selected categories of spirits. It was established in 1887 by William Grant, and is run by Grant's descendants as of 2018. It is the ...

distillers.

Early life and education

Born in Ayr on the west coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in 1945, David Stewart started work at William Grant & Sons as an apprentice in 1962, the year before

Single Malt Scotch Whisky Single malt Scotch refers to single malt whisky made in Scotland. To qualify for this category, a whisky must have been distilled at a single distillery using a pot still distillation process and made from a mash of malted barley. Therefore, ...

was first officially exported to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, when

Glenfiddich Glenfiddich () is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky produced by William Grant & Sons in the Scottish burgh of Dufftown in Moray. The name Glenfiddich derives from the Scottish Gaelic ''Gleann Fhiodhaich'' meaning "valley of the deer", which is ...

became the first single malt to be enjoyed outside Scotland. Following a 12-year

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

at the independent family distillers learning the skills of nosing and blending the best quality Scotch whisky, David was appointed Malt Master of William Grant & Sons in 1974; a position he has held ever since, making him the longest-serving malt master of any distillers in the industry.

Career

During his 50 years at William Grant & Sons, David has developed an award-winning range of single malts and blends which have earned him some of the industry's top accolades and helped the independent William Grant & Sons become Distiller of the Year an unprecedented five times by the International Spirits Challenge (ISC), four times by the

International Wine and Spirit Competition The International Wine & Spirit Competition is an annual wine and spirit competition founded in 1969 by the German/British oenologist Anton Massel. Each year the competition receives entries from over 90 countries worldwide. The awards given by ...

(IWSC) and for the first time by the World Whiskies Awards in 2011. His key achievements include the development of two

cask A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...

maturation in the 1980s, unheard of at the time, but these days an established technique referred to as ‘finishing’ and widely enjoyed as The

Balvenie The Balvenie distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Dufftown, Scotland, owned by William Grant & Sons. History William Grant was born on 19 December 1839 in his father's house in Dufftown. At seven he began herding ...

DoubleWood 12 Year Old. David's introduction of

Solera Reserve 15 Year Old, was also the first and only single malt to use the innovative

Solera ''Solera'' is a process for aging liquids such as wine, beer, vinegar, and brandy, by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many ...

maturation process. As master blender at William Grant & Sons, he developed the world's first blends to be finished in Ale and

Sherry Sherry ( es, jerez ) is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versi ...

Casks, with the introduction of Grant's Ale Cask Reserve and Sherry Cask Reserve. His passion for the art of blending also helped Grant's Family Reserve, the world's third best-selling Scotch whisky, receive consistent international acclaim as one of the world's best blends. David officially handed over the role of Glenfiddich Malt Master and Grant's Master Blender to Brian Kinsman in 2009, after almost a decade working closely together. He firmly remains part of the William Grant & Sons family, however, dedicating his time to his Malt Master role at the company's renowned

Balvenie Distillery The Balvenie distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Dufftown, Scotland, owned by William Grant & Sons. History William Grant was born on 19 December 1839 in his father's house in Dufftown. At seven he began herding ...

Dufftown Dufftown ( gd, Baile Bhainidh ) is a burgh in Moray, Scotland. While the town is part of the historic Mortlach parish, the town was established and laid out in the early 19th century as part of a planned new town settlement. The town has several ...

. David's pioneering spirit and dedication to his craft, coupled with his modest, unassuming manner has made him one of the best-loved and respected craftsmen in the business.

Personal life

Stewart lives outside

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

with his wife Ellen and has three children Heather, Colin and Alan and two grandchildren, Rory, three and Lily, one. An avid

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

football fan, David also finds the time to indulge in curling and a round of golf in his spare time. Apart from Scotch, Stewart enjoys

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

and

white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without skin contact. The wine color, colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured Juice vesicles, ...

, particularly from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

.FIVE QUESTIONS WITH DAVID STEWART – MALT MASTER, THE BALVENIE
thewhiskyexchange.com 15 September 2017

External links

William Grant & Sons
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Биография Дэвида стюарта на Islay.ru

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, David 1945 births Living people Whisky blenders Members of the Order of the British Empire