.

.

 .

I am 40 years old & before I moved to Scotland nearly 4 years ago, I lived in Lincoln, England. At that time, my son Ben had gone to university, which left just me and my dog Dave at home, so I had no ties other than work. I had spent the last 20 years in the motor/finance industry and was last working as a Business Development Manager for Peugeot Motor Company involved in 66 dealerships. So when the opportunity came available to buy a shop near my parents in Dufftown, I jumped at the chance as I had always believed that I wanted to work for myself and that there was an opportunity to create and partner whisky & ice cream which I believe are a marriage made in heaven. Since I made this decision I have never looked back and enjoy being part of my town’s growth!

 .

 .

 .

Before I moved to Dufftown my whisky knowledge looking back was poor. But since I moved here, I have met great people from all over the world who have helped with my education in excellent malt whisky! What I did know was that the balance of flavour and that many malt whiskies flavours came through in ice cream. The real fun has been the trial & error of finding  the best whiskies to complete the marriage. You would also be surprised that whiskies you think would work actually don’t! My passion for whisky grows every day as you are always surprised when you try something new. We also have a whisky bar (Tannochbrae) with over 350 different malt whiskies and we are always looking to add to this collection with nips that inspire!

 .

 .

 .

Finding the best expressions is based on trial and error but when we started we were lucky as our name sake Balvenie was a true success and started the ball rolling! After that, we had a base line to develop a small range to compliment but also to take our customers on a journey. We always stay focused on selecting & promoting Speyside whisky as long as the partnership works, the only thing that Speyside is short on is smoky whisky so the obvious for 2016 was Islay. “Wow” was that moment when we tried the Bowmore legend, the holy grail of smoky whisky, & ice cream marriage, this for us would complete the journey for our customers!

 .

 .

 .

Whisky offers so much in food as well as ice cream, its richness, cask finish & undertones can all be found in ice cream….. well some can! People should use whisky more to elevate food to a higher level and select the right whisky for the balance they want to find, it should be remembered that there is great fun in finding that perfect whisky to compliment a dish!

 .

 .

 .

Never say never…. who knows were our whisky journey will go, for the moment though we aim to promote Scottish whisky as we do live in the single malt whisky capital. Our immediate aims are to produce small tubs of whisky ice cream for other retailers in Scotland to offer our unique product to people from all areas of the globe. We hope that whisky ice cream introduces more people to whisky and join our journey to enjoy a dram!

 .

 .

 .

We hope to see very soon our great whisky ice cream being sold across the whole of Scotland. As well as selling from the shop we sell at many events during the year including the various local Highland Games, with an aim to bring more people into the wonderful world of Scottish whisky. All we have ever wanted is for people from all over the globe to be charmed by our ice cream & have a lasting memory of Dufftown & Scotland…..The crazy dream for me is that Balvenie St. is the name people know is synonymous for great whisky ice cream & then who knows where this dream takes us!

.

.

.

 (Psst! This article is released under my partnership with The Craft Whisky Club, a new Scotland-based spirited start-up aiming at showcasing the best of what craft producers have to offer – delivering artisan spirits and delicacies straight to your doorstep!)