Whisky in Moray: Distillery manager Alan McConnochie to retire from Benriach, GlenDronach and The Glenglassaugh
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The manager of three North East distilleries is retiring after 50 years of distinguished service to the whisky industry.
Alan McConnochie oversees Benriach, which is sited about three miles south of Elgin, overlooking the A941 road to Fogwatt.
In addition, he also runs GlenDronach near Huntly, and The Glenglassaugh near Portsoy.
Alan's future as a man of whisky was almost predestined.
He was born in the shadow of White Horse Distillers in Glasgow and, in 1973, started his first job there in its bottling hall.
Alan was later appointed assistant manager at Plymouth Gin in Devon, before moving to Laphroaig on Islay.
It's a career that has enjoyed many milestones but he believes his greatest moment was overseeing the reopening of the Benriach Distillery for Billy Walker before it was acquired by Brown-Forman in 2016.
Both his expertise and years of service were honoured in 2018 when he was inducted as a Keeper of the Quaich – the whisky industry's ultimate accolade.
Commenting on his retirement, Alan said: "It's been an incredible privilege to oversee the distilleries of some of the industry's finest single malt whiskies.
"The element I will miss the most is the camaraderie of both the distillery team and the whisky industry as a whole.
"Being a part of the launch of The GlenDronach Aged 50 Years in January was a particularly proud moment, having personally helped to nurture those casks over the years.
"I couldn’t be happier to hand over the reins to Laura, who is very well suited to continue to build the future of our skilled and passionate distillery team."
Laura Tolmie has a background in chemical and process engineering as well as extensive experience in maltings and distilleries across Scotland.
The current distilleries production manager, she has worked alongside Alan since being appointed by Brown-Forman in 2017.
Commenting on her new role, Laura said: "It's an absolute honour to be given the opportunity to be the custodian of these three stunning single malt distilleries.
"Each has its own unique character and history, and each is so highly regarded in the industry.
"Combined with the passion and drive that the distillery teams have for the whiskies, I am extremely excited to be a part of the amazing futures of Benriach, Glenglassaugh and The GlenDronach."
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