Graeme initially joined the business at Strathisla on a six-month contract, but within two weeks he was made a permanent member of the distillery team, and he’s been with the business ever since.
Here we find out more about his career, motivations and whisky hero.
My name is Graeme Cruickshank, I work at Aberlour and Dalmunach distillery in Speyside, but Aberlour is my primary distillery and I am master distiller there.
I grew up in Keith town (Moray) where there were three distilleries: Chivas Brothers owned Strathisla, Glen Keith and J&B Strathmill.
I knew friends, family and locals who worked in distilling, and there was always an element of intrigue into what was going on behind closed doors.
You knew how it supported the local economy because of the jobs provided to a lot of people in the area. After being in and around the sights and smells of distilleries from a young age, when the chance to get into a distillery came around it was exciting.
Ah, that’s a story – it’s taken 40 years! In 1985 I first stepped into the whisky industry, starting off in warehousing for Chivas Brothers.
I had worked there for only two weeks when the Head of Distilling asked to meet me. I remember thinking, ‘crikey what have I done wrong?’, but instead they were impressed with my work ethic and offered me a full-time job in production at Strathisla distillery.
I relished the chance and then that was it, they closed the doors and didn’t let me out!
To progress to where I am now, it was a case of trying to expand my knowledge in distilling as much as I could.
I spent the first 16 years across Speyside: in Strathisla, Glen Keith, Longmorn, and formerly Chivas Brothers-owned Benriach and Glen Grant. I learned the craft across these distilleries, and at the same time went back to college part-time to study electronic engineering and mechatronics.
This is because I felt that the distillation process was evolving into a more automated process, so I did my studies and got my qualifications.
Once Pernod Ricard bought the old Seagram business, I was appointed production team leader at Aberlour and Glentauchers distilleries. When the business acquired Allied Domecq distillers in 2005, that gave me exposure to Scapa, Glendronach and Tormore.
I relished in the chance to see these distilleries I’d never had a chance to visit or work in, learning from other people’s techniques to try to adapt and improve.
That all came to a head in 2015 when the previous master distiller of Aberlour, Douglas Cruickshank, retired. The management team at Chivas Brothers knocked on my door and asked if I'd like to be the new Aberlour Master Distiller.
I had to pick up the baton and try and leave my imprint. The industry has been evolving so much in the last 20 years, so you always keep learning.
At the same time, it has given me the opportunity to pass on my knowledge to those moving up through the business at Chivas Brothers. To work in this industry you need passion, so I’ve been working with younger people to try to invigorate them and show them how our work impacts not just local communities in Speyside, but also on a global scale.
People may imagine that we get the chance to always drink lovely whiskies, but to their surprise we don’t get to taste whisky as much as you might think.
In distilling, we spend a lot of time on quality, which starts with the raw materials, such as the malted barley and process water.
The assessment of the nose element is so important to our role and throughout the process- the malt, the milling, the fermentation, the distillation and the production of the new makes.
This is all closely monitored by the nose, and it culminates every week in a blind nosing session with the blending team from Chivas Brothers, where we assess all the new make spirits.
This allows you to measure your week’s produce against the standard profile for that distillery. We leave the tasting to when we get the matured liquid, which may be up to 10 years down the line before we really get an essence of the fruits of our labours.
Thinking about the legacy of previous distillers and the characteristics of the whiskies that we make in Aberlour, I think we’re historical.
The historical style would be a more sherry influenced whisky, and that’s been brought about by the generations of distillers before me. What is presented in the final bottle is influenced by the casks, how they matured the whisky and the warehouses on site.
Aberlour A'bunadh is one of the most sherry forward whiskies you’ll get, and it is such an iconic representation of the brand. That is down to the quality of our distillery processes, and the selection of casks from Spain which guarantees that excellence.
It epitomises the Speyside region as the whiskies from the area are typically sweet, fruity and floral. I think with our quality cask management process, we deliver that classic Speyside style throughout the different age profiles that we have at Aberlour. Within the range of whiskies that we have, there is an Aberlour whisky that may suit everyone.
I remember, when I started at Chivas Brothers, the company used to give you a free bottle every month.
At that time, under Seagram, it would’ve been 100 Pipers or Passport Scotch. It never really struck a chord with me, so I would pass the bottles onto my dad.
The Glenlivet 12-Year-Old was probably a game changer for me. It’s made in one distillery, 20 miles from where I live and it had grown as a whisky well-loved all over the world. I could see why it appealed to the whisky lovers, so it was probably the first single malt whisky that I tried and enjoyed.
At 53 years old, it is the oldest age expression that we’ve done at Aberlour. It’s going to be one of 81 lots in the Distillers One of One Auction, held at Hopetoun House, Edinburgh in partnership with Sotheby’s, on the 10 October, so I think it will be much sought after.
“The Mouth of the Chattering Burn”, a name inspired by the ancient Gaelic meaning of Aberlour, speaks for itself.
The way we age our whisky here means that it can age for any length of maturation and still stand up for its own- that’s down to the quality of the cask and our processes. We make sure that any product created here at Aberlour has got that essence of quality that we expect from the distillery.
This remarkable 53-year-old Single Malt Scotch Whisky was distilled in 1967 and matured for over half a century in a single cask. Born from a single cask and encased in a handcrafted vessel, this whisky stands as an incomparable testimony to rare, ancient craft and legacy.
This year is an exciting year for Aberlour, so watch this space!”
I’ve had a few people I’ve looked up to all my career, as over 40 years I’ve worked for many people. What struck me with the guys I learned from in the early days was the passion and commitment to the industry. Each of them had that drive to make sure that whatever they were doing was the best it could be.
But, if I was going to pick one, it would be Alan Winchester. I first worked with Alan in 1985, as he was the Brewer at Glen Keith. I remember being struck by his attention to detail and his knowledge of the process.
When I came back to work for him in 2001, he was such a good mentor to me in my early management career. Alan continues his knowledge to this day, as he’s a great ambassador not only for the whisky he produces, but also for the industry as a whole.
I don’t agree with people’s perception about whisky being a smoky product. Not all whisky is smoky; there are different regions that will focus on smokiness and there are regions that will steer away from that. I’d like to encourage people to explore different avenues of whisky more often.
I’d pick Daniel Day-Lewis. I think he puts such an emphasis on the acting craft that he immerses himself in character portrayals intensely and rumoured to stay in character throughout entire filming process.
Elegant, complex, reassuring.
Passionate, energetic, driven.
