Some of the finest young bartenders in Ho Chi Minh City were treated to a special interactive workshop held by The Balvenie ambassador for Southeast Asia, Mr Neil Strachan, at Below Whisky Den this week.
“What we’re exceptionally proud of at The Balvenie is how we make our whisky”
Neil Strachan – The Balvenie brand ambassador for Southeast Asia
The 32-year old Singapore-based Scotsman originally from Aberdeen delivered an engaging and information-packed session that included a little about the history of The Balvenie distillery and brand, the technicalities of making whisky and, of course, tastings of their 12, 14 and 17-year-old single malt whiskies.
Neil has been The Balvenie’s brand ambassador for Southeast Asia for four years and is a career hospitality professional. He says a highlight of his career so far was being part of a management group at the age of just 20 that opened a whisky bar in Aberdeen that offered 370 whiskies when they opened its doors, but had added another 150 by the time he left approximately 18 months later.
Attendees heard how during that time he “soaked in the romanticism of Scotch whiskies” along with the stories told by his customers related to them and the distilleries they came from. “We’ve always described our whiskies as being handcrafted,” he says.
The Balvenie distillery, which has been making whisky since 1893, is one of the few remaining single-estate distilleries in Scotland, meaning the entire whisky making process from growing barley to casking is all done on-site. Over 1,000 acres of farmland surrounds the distillery, which is one of 56 distilleries in the Speyside region of Scotland and home to some of the best-selling single malt whiskies in the world.
For more information about The Balvenie whiskies, click HERE
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