Wizards Of Whisky: David C. Stewart MBE

In an industry where blenders, distillers, and managers tend to move around a lot, those that remain in one place stand out. None more so than David C. Stewart MBE who recently celebrated 60 years at The Balvenie distillery.

Stewart was born in 1945 and in 1962 joined Balvenie’s owners William Grant & Sons as a whisky stocks clerk rising to become master blender in 1974 at the tender age of 29. He was instrumental in the rise of single malts first with Glenfiddich and then Balvenie.

At Balvenie, he pioneered the development of two cask maturation in the 1970s, but these days an established technique referred to as ‘finishing’ and widely enjoyed as The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old aged in American oak ex-bourbon casks before finishing in European oak ex-oloroso sherry butts, which was pretty radical at the time. David’s introduction of Glenfiddich Solera Reserve 15 Year Old, was also the first and only single malt to use the innovative Solera maturation process.

As master blender at William Grant & Sons,[2] he developed the world’s first blends to be finished in Ale and Sherry 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, which receive consistent international acclaim as one of the world’s best blends.

Stewart has received pretty much every honour in the industry, culminating in an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II in 2016. (Credits – masterofmalt.com/wikipedia.org)

Here’s a toast to a master craftsman for his decades of dedication and exceptional contributions to the world of whisky. Thank you for sharing your artistry and expertise with us, and for elevating whisky to new heights. Cheers to a true whisky wizard!