The Balvenie, one of the world’s last handcrafted Single Malt Scotch Whiskey, hosted a private tasting event at the Bar Marmot, Hollywood as a part of their Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow. Two smartly dressed Scottish Balvenie ambassadors, Nicholas Pollacchi and Andrew Weir, led the tasting and shared their experiences about their nationwide search for US craftsmen and artisans, like Balvenie, who preserve and excel at traditional craft. From a female blacksmith in New Orleans to a custom skateboard-maker in Florida, the Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow is discovering Americans who still believe in quality handmade products.
“We are passionate about the need to preserve and practice the art of craftsmanship, and The Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow will bring this passion to life sharing it with those we meet along the way,” added Nicholas Pollacchi, Western USA Ambassador for The Balvenie. “We hope that The Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow will ignite the spirit of rare craft across the country, and we look forward to honoring our fellow craftsmen during this epic nationwide journey. We encourage craftsmen to begin signing up immediately.”
The evening began with a ruby red cocktail featuring Balvenie and proceeded to a sit down tasting where members of the press were educated about the techniques of tasting whiskey. For example, most would smell a whiskey like a wine, but no, that will only burn your sense of smell. Next time you are at a whiskey tasting, instead of placing your nose in the glass and inhaling, simply move the glass back and forth under your nose as its too strong to identify the subtle notes by doing the wine smelling approach. The evening was a smash hit, ending on a high note, by tasting an exquisite 40 year old Balvenie.
Balvenie Tasting at Bar Marmot, Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow
Part trans-American road trip and part voyage of discovery, The Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow is being documented every step of the way in a Web series and eventual documentary film. The Balvenie Ambassadors Andrew Weir and Nicholas Pollacchi have traveled since March in a gorgeous white and tan handcrafted Morgan car, drawing attention to the Balvenie brand name wherever they go.
As a fifth-generation family owned distillery, the exceptional quality of The Balvenie stems from its commitment to retain and nurture the high level of hand craftsmanship no longer employed by other malt whiskey producers.
Andrew Weir explains how Balvenie distinguishes itself from other scotch whiskey brands, “The Balvenie is unique in that nowhere else will you find a distillery that still grows its own barley, malts in its own traditional malting floor, employs coopers to tend every cask, a coppersmith to maintain the stills, and a malt master to ensure that the resulting spirit is consistently excellent. We realize this approach may not be as economical or as profitable as it could be, but as a family-owned distillery, we do it because we can, and because we know it’s the best way to ensure quality throughout the whiskey making process.”
To follow the progress of the Road Show, learn more about scheduled stops and nominate craftsmen, visit The Balvenie Rare Craft Roadshow Web site at: www.balvenie.com/roadshow
