CaLDRON February 2014 - Valentine's Day Special | Page 65

SPIRIT-UAL
When Ian Logan first stepped into the
realm of the whiskey cellar some 26
years ago, little did he know he would
become the torchbearers for one of the
biggest brands of scotch whiskey ever
known to mankind. For ten years, he
has been the brand ambassador for
Glenlivet, a job that entails traveling
across the world, getting off the plane
at odd hours, walking through countless airports and amassing countless
frequent flyer miles.

a dram of whisky from Speyside by
name and the entire town of Speyside and all the distilleries started
calling themselves Glenlivet.

After a prolonged battle for trademark, John Grant Smith, son of
George Smith, the maker of Glenlivet who literally had to battle
bootleggers and smugglers to keep
his distillery running, got the exclusive rights to call his creation The
Glenlivet. There was the prohibition,
I’m still not clear who conceptualtwo world wars that The Glenlivet
ized the idea, whether it was Ian or
not only survived, but thrived in
Master Distiller Alan Winchester,
and came out a winner. Towards
but what they are out to do right
the end of prohibition in the continow has probably never been done
nental United States, The Glenlivet
in the history of scotch whiskey. They accounted for nearly 50 per cent of
are creating history by asking conthe Scottish single malt market. We
noisseurs what they think is the best must be doing something right in
whiskey made by Glenlivet for 2014 carrying on the traditions to have
release. Jaswinder Singh got a chance won the Distillery Of The Year
to speak to Ian Logan when he was in award 5 years in a row out of the
Delhi doing just that.
past 7 years.
Jaswinder Singh (JS): I’ve heard
many stories of whiskey labels and
the families that brought those drinks
to life with their steadfast dedication
to perfection. Some stories seem fantastic, but nonetheless evoke a great
sense of belonging toward 2F