01 Jun 2007


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The Balvenie rolls out Artisan Awards

The Balvenie

alcoholic drinks

whisky

Source : The Balvenie Distillery
As part of a campaign to build awareness of The Balvenie and its credentials as a premium Single Malt Scotch Whisky which prides itself on retaining and nurturing a high standard of craftsmanship, the brand has rolled out The Balvenie Artisan Awards across the UK for the first time this year.

The awards, which have previously been running in Scotland for 4 years, are designed to reward and celebrate individuals who, like the makers of The Balvenie, keep traditional crafts alive.

‘These awards have been extremely successful in Scotland so it seemed natural to extend the opportunity to recognise those businesses who are committed to upholding traditional crafts and skills to the rest of the UK.

'We still use traditional methods to make The Balvenie such as growing our own barley, maintaining a traditional floor maltings, coopers, and a resident coppersmith. We are totally committed to retaining all areas of craftsmanship throughout the process,’ explained Geraldine Roche.

‘By forming an exclusive media partnership with Country Living magazine, we have been able to closely target potential drinkers and gifters of premium malts who are likely to appreciate and identify with these values.’

The top accolade at the awards, The Country Living Balvenie Artisan of the Year 2007, was presented at the award ceremony in London this month. It went to Steven Laing, founder of Traditional Masonry in Aberdeenshire, who impressed the judges with his commitment to training, education and quality.

Other winners included a wooden boat builder from Cornwall, an upholstery designer from London and a wood carver from Suffolk.

In addition to The Balvenie Artisan Awards, the brand has also formed a number of partnerships with well respected, luxury brands who also adhere to traditional craftsmanship, to bring the brand’s quality and heritage to life. These include Gieves & Hawkes Savile Row bespoke tailors and Morgan cars as a means of engaging with discerning whisky drinkers.

‘Our programme of support for the brand continues to communicate our commitment to hand crafted quality by linking with craftsman from high end tailors through to stonemasons. Partnerships such as those with Gieves and Hawkes and Morgan cars will be rolled out continually throughout the year in a bid to keep these messages alive,’ adds Roche.

The Balvenie continues to win the highest accolades from industry experts and the distillery now offers Scotland’s most in-depth whisky tour. It is the only distillery in Scotland to allow visitors to bottle their own whisky in a distillery warehouse direct from the cask.

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