An Interview With Brian Kinsman, Malt Master Glenfiddich. Meet The Man Behind One Of William Grant & Sons’ Great Brands.
1 minute read
Introduction by: Peter Marshall
Brian Kinsman needs little introduction. He is widely respected as a technically gifted and highly creative Malt Master, with the rare mix of a scientific training, sensory skill and long-term stewardship of William Grant & Sons’ whisky portfolio.
He joined William Grant & Sons in 1997 as a whisky chemist, succeeding David Stewart as Glenfiddich’s sixth Malt Master and Master Blender for William Grant & Sons in 2009, taking responsibility for the entire blended and single malt portfolio. Extraodinarily, he has personally nosed or sampled more than 250,000 casks over his career, underlining the depth of experience in quality control and flavour development.
As you will discover from this highly personal video, Brian focuses strongly on consistency over decades, ensuring the house character of brands like Glenfiddich and Grant’s is maintained, while still innovating and pushing boundaries.
Over the years he has created or significantly shaped major releases such as the revamped Grant’s blends, Monkey Shoulder and multiple Glenfiddich limited or special editions, including Malt Master’s Edition and Grand Cru. He is very proactive and plays a visible role in launch storytelling and education, often fronting new products in travel retail and at distillery experiences. He recognises travel retail as a key staging point for premiumisation, gifting and experiential launches, and supports activations that combine liquid innovation with strong storytelling and advocacy at the point of sale.
Just like Rufus Parkinson in his interview on TRunblocked.com ( https://www.trunblocked.com/william-grant-sons-rufus-parkinson-managing-director-global-travel-retail-interviewed/ ), Brian speaks consistently about the benefits of family ownership at William Grant & Sons, framing decisions around long-term quality and the next generation.
So, meet the man – his values, his philosophy, his perspective of travel retail and his own personal whisky favourite(s) – in this short and highly compelling video.
