Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/61075
It also helps that his fellow aficiona- dos are like him, so when he's giving a tasting to the trade or consumers, Nicholas is confident that he can talk scotch-drinker to scotch-drinker without all the market-babble. "I like to engage everyone and I like it to be a two-way conversation," he says. "For us, it's not really about brand image— it's more than that. "It's really about craftsmanship. I think it's an ethos that we have as a business." Nicholas pauses and reflects on the question, What makes The Balvenie different from other artisanal spirits? "There's no magic here, no cloak and dagger. Everything we're doing here is transparent. It's great for us to take ownership of this, but the truth is there's not another single malt whisky that can talk about it the way we can." He adds, "There are all levels to the journey—I just happen to do this every day of my life. So I can tell them why we do it and why it's important." The Balvenie Single Barrel Aged 15 Years The Balvenie Single Barrel is a 15-year-old single malt drawn from a single traditional oak cask from a single distillation. Each cask is subtly different, and The Balvenie Malt Master selects only those Nicholas confers with The Balvenie Global Ambassador Sam Simmons before a New York Scotch Club tasting. "That's a lifetime dedication to a craft! Of the single malt distilleries in Scotland, most of them are good, a handful of them are great and only a few of them are spectacular and I'm lucky enough to work for one of the spectacular ones." "That really makes my job easy," he adds. "We're not owned by a conglomerate, and it's not a nonsense family, not a made-up family. Mr. Charles, the great-grandson, is still in our office. It's a company of individuals who are all a part of it, and that makes it so much nicer." His job with The Balvenie also gives Nicholas a way to espouse his favorite 92 / the tasting panel / april 2012 topic: hand-crafted single malt scotch. And it's not just company-speak, either. In his 12-plus-year career spanning the globe (he's been to six continents), the 30-year-old Scot has promoted other spirits but none has captured his fascination like single malt. Nicholas says he's been to most distilleries in his homeland—and even lived in one for six months, helping to make casks of whisky with his fellow ambassadors. "I'm not a fan or an enthusiast, I'm beyond that: I'm a geek for single malt whisky," he says. "I can talk until the cows come home about single— I think that's why people continue to pay attention." that have the essential characteris- tics of The Balvenie Single Barrel, particularly honey, vanilla and oaky notes. Each bottling forms a limited edition of no more than 350 hand-numbered bottles; each bottle is unique and unrepeatable. Fragrant aroma of vanilla, honeyed sweetness, hints of heather and dry oaky notes on the nose lead to rich, complex, age-induced flavors with a honey, malt, vanilla, oak and delicate spice notes.