Ian McWilliam
IAN MCWILLIAM
Placed of Birth: Dufftown, Scotland
Date of Birth: 20.05.1961
Lived in the Speyside area all of my life and went to Aberlour Primary school then moving onto Keith Grammar School.
Left school in 1978 and started work temporary at Speyside cooperage for 10 months before becoming a carpenter & joiner with a small local family company for 13 years. One of my first jobs as an apprentice was in fact working at Glenfarclas Distillery constructing the manager and brewer offices, boardroom, executive lounge and dining room that still exist today.
Joined Glenfarclas in January 1991 as Assistant Head Warehouseman.
Since then I have worked in all areas of the Glenfarclas production spending around 10 years between the Warehouse, Mashing and Distillation.
In January 2001 I was promoted to Assistant Production Manager working alongside our distillery Production Manager overseeing all areas of the Glenfarclas production and maturation process.
In May 2004 moved to the Glenfarclas Sales & Marketing team and with a comprehensive knowledge and experience gained during my time in making our Glenfarclas Single Highland Malt Whisky I hope to carry along with me into my presentations.
I am now looking after more than 30 countries which keeps me pretty busy. Most of my time is spent working in the sales office at Glenfarclas Distillery although I do travel extensively throughout the year visiting my distributors and customers, attending Whisky Festivals and hosting Whisky Dinners, Tasting events, Staff Training and business meetings.
Countries I am responsible for:- Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Laos, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Switzerland Duty Free, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine & Vietnam.
My home is at one of the company houses situated about 200 meters from Glenfarclas Distillery and it is very handy being able to walk to work each day.
I am also still in close contact with the production process and staff as I am required to be on call for production when necessary. This means that I may be required to assist with any problems out of office hours when the Distillery Manager and Assistant manager are not on duty.
I find it is invaluable to be able to talk to people in detail about the Glenfarclas production process and also the traditions and family history that all add up to make Glenfarclas a truly great whisky.
It gives me great pleasure representing Glenfarclas, one of the last Family owned and managed distilleries in Scotland, promoting and presenting a range of Glenfarclas products that I have had an involvement in creating for over 25 years.