Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/97133
Allardice lives in Dallas, but as the Gleniddich Brand Ambassador for the Central U.S., he often travels to Minnesota, Illinois and Florida, as well as throughout Texas. In mid-November, after arriving in Austin for a couple days of Ambassador duties, he met up with THE TASTING PANEL at Pech��, a Warehouse District ine-dining restaurant that���s made its reputation for being Austin���s irst absinthe bar. But, as Allardice notices, Pech�� treats all the highest quality spirits with true esteem: ���We���re sitting in a perfect place. Pech�� is a great example of a top-notch scotch bar in Austin, even if it���s not a scotch bar. There are many single malts here, and several of those are Gleniddich.��� Scouting out the local scotch talent (i.e., the bar and nightlife scenes and the scenesters who inhabit them) is all part of Allardice���s job. The important thing, he says, is relationship-building with bar managers, bartenders and beverage directors; his standing order is to turn what he calls ���repertoire��� drinkers into loyal drinkers. ���Many scotch drinkers like to travel from brand to brand, region to region. Our hope is that people will try the 12 Year, 15 Year or maybe the 21 Year Gleniddich and love it so much that it becomes their go-to brand.��� Allardice doesn���t see huge differences within his various markets. Overall, he says, America���s Scotch whisky culture is growing, with Texas being one of the best markets for Gleniddich. That���s a point of pride for Allardice, since he���s lived in Dallas for more than seven years, and it���s where his scotch spark was lit. ���Back in 2008, a friend of mine worked for William Grant & Sons, and she wanted me to be on the team. At that point, I wasn���t huge into scotch. I���d have one every once in a while, but I certainly wasn���t the enthusiast that I am today. Back then, however, what I lacked in scotch experience, I made up for in accent.��� That���s right, Allardice is from Scotland. Born 32 years ago in Rutherglen, he grew up just south of Glasgow. At 15 he moved to Holland for a couple years to play soccer and go to school. Afterwards, he bounced back and forth between England and Scotland before arriving Stateside. Curiously, even though he���s a native Scotsman, it wasn���t until he���d been living in Dallas for a while that the appreciation for his home country���s most-famous export truly began to grow. ���I started getting interested in the company, going to scotch tastings, Allardice practices his ���juggling��� in downtown Austin. The Grand Gleniddich ���I appreciate the fact that it���s a good, small team that I work with. From the Malt Masters to the Ambassadors, it���s a good working environment, says David Allardice. ���And we���re still ��� owned by the original family. ��� That���s quite a feat, considering that Glen���ddich was started by William Grant 125 years ago. Thanks in part to the invigorating work from Brand Ambassadors, including Allardice, sales of Glen���ddich single malts are getting stronger each year, in this country and around the world. With a portfolio already consisting of 12, 15, 18, 21 and 30 Year Old single malts, Glen���ddich continues to issue limited-edition bottlings that demonstrate both the re���ned techniques as well as innovative scotch expressions from individual Malt Masters. With such high quality and exacting production standards, it���s no wonder that Glen���ddich has been awarded more medals since 2000 at the International Spirits Challenge and the International Wine & Spirits Competition than any other single malt Scotch whisky. 68 / the tasting panel / december 2012