{"id":6245,"date":"2016-10-25T10:13:49","date_gmt":"2016-10-25T09:13:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewhiskylady.net\/?p=6245"},"modified":"2016-10-25T10:13:49","modified_gmt":"2016-10-25T09:13:49","slug":"exploring-south-african-whisky-master-distiller-andy-watts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewhiskylady.net\/exploring-south-african-whisky-master-distiller-andy-watts\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring South-African Whisky with Master Distiller Andy Watts"},"content":{"rendered":"
After exploring Italian, French, Czech, Indian, Swedish and other exotic whisky countries, I’ve now decided to go have a look at what’s currently going on in South-Africa<\/strong>, a well-known territory when it comes to wine, but what about whisky?<\/strong> Andy Watts, Master Distiller at The James Sedgwick Distillery<\/a>, agreed to answer a few questions and help me in my quest of malted knowledge!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n First of all, could you please tell me a bit more about yourself: where do you come from, career background etc. and how did you end up working as a Master Distiller for The James Sedgwick Distillery<\/a>?<\/strong><\/p>\n My career did not start out with any intention of becoming a master distiller. I grew up in a country town in what was then the West Riding of \u00a0Yorkshire (now South Yorkshire) called Penistone and my dream was like most young boys at that time and that was to become a professional footballer. I did not make it at football but I did become a professional cricketer and that is what originally brought me to South Africa in 1982. As a young professional cricketer escaping the cold English winters I found myself in the Western Cape in a town called Wellington. There were a further two seasons of back and forth before I decided to make South Africa my home in October 1984.<\/p>\n Throughout those early days in South Africa, as though almost by destiny, I had many moments of being in the right place at the right time on more than one occasion. As part of my cricketing contract I was obliged to do part time work for a sponsor, Stellenbosch Farmers Winery (SFW), the company which later merged to become what is known today as Distell.<\/p>\n I was appointed full time by SFW as the Spirits Blending Manager in 1984. It was during the mid to late 80\u2019s that I was fortunate to be invited to Scotland on a technical exchange program with a company called Morrison Bowmore Distillers. I spent time working at their Glen Garioch and Auchentoshan distilleries, as well as time on the Isle of Islay at their legendary Bowmore distillery.<\/p>\n It was whilst in Scotland that I got to meet and work with some of the most influential whisky leaders at that time \u2013 people with an incredible passion for whisky. Their enthusiasm and love for making and enjoying whisky I brought back with me to South Africa to head up the whisky operations at the James Sedgwick Distillery<\/a> in Wellington.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What’s your personal relationship with whisky: first sipped? Any noticeable milestones on your whisky journey? Any favourite expression\/distillery\/profile?<\/strong><\/p>\n My first experience with whisky was not necessarily a pleasant one however as I grew older I realised that it was more youthful ignorance than a problem with whisky which was the root cause of that first experience.<\/p>\n The journey has been an incredible one\u2026..one which has included many projects with the upgrading and expansion of the distillery as well as the expansion of our whisky portfolio.<\/p>\n The significant highlights are:<\/p>\n Spending time on the Island of Islay back in the 80\u2019s and falling in love with the island, its people and its whiskies means that I have a soft spot for the heavily peated whiskies. And to remind me of this special time I created the Three Ships 5 Year Old Premium Select \u2013 a whisky that each time takes me back to that very moment. Bowmore as a distillery and their whiskies will always have a soft spot due to emotive reasons. I also enjoy the expressions from mainland Deanston and Tomintoul.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Could you please describe what a typical day in your shoes would look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n After spending 25 years as Distillery Manager of the James Sedgwick Distillery<\/a>, I have recently been appointed as Distell\u2019s Global Head of Whisky. This means I take lead responsibility for the company\u2019s entire whisky portfolio focusing on the process, quality and style of their whiskies. I will however continue to be the Master Distiller of and provide strategic guidance for the production of the range of Three Ships Whiskies<\/a> and Bain\u2019s Cape Mountain Whisky, made at the James Sedgwick Distillery<\/a>,\u00a0 as well as be responsible for the company\u2019s Scottish whisky portfolio which includes Bunnahabhain, Deanston, Tobermory, Ledaig, Black Bottle and Scottish Leader.<\/p>\n So my day involves regular meetings with the current Distillery Manager, Jeff Green, working on innovation and setting whiskies in interesting casks and finishes to create limited editions for the next few years. On the Scottish front I am incredibly fortunate to have Dr Kirstie McCallum overseeing the day to day blending in Scotland so I don\u2019t have too many worries there.<\/p>\n I am also doing more tastings and ambassadorial work which does involve quite a bit of travelling locally and internationally.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do you think South-African Whisky is a category in itself? If yes, what would particularly describe it?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n I see South African Whisky as being a part of the growing category of the international \u201cNew World\u201d whiskies. Whiskies which are starting to attract attention for their quality in their own right. Our industry on a commercial basis only turn 40 years old next year so I think we have come a long way in a very short period of time. We do not have over 500 years of tradition and although we have the utmost respect for that we are able to be very innovative which consumers find interesting and exciting. I think the days are slowly passing where people were just curious about our whiskies and they are now taking them as serious alternatives in an ever increasing pool of whisky brands emerging throughout the world.<\/p>\n Our distillery is capable of producing both grain and malt whisky and with this we can produce different styles of whisky which just increases our ability to innovate.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you had to pick ONE expression from the Three Ships range, which one would it be and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n It would be the Three Ships<\/a> 5 Year Old Premium Select. When I returned from Scotland and was tasked with both improving the quality and the quantity of the whisky we produced we had only one commercial whisky under the Three Ships name. The 5 Year Old I developed with the intention of reminding me of my time on Islay therefore it has bold, peaty and medicinal notes although it is a blended whisky. It was launched in 1992 and was the first whisky I was entirely responsible for. Since then our range has expanded to include cask finishes, single malts and single grains but the 5 Year Old blend remains the one which puts a smile on my face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Are you using\/experimenting with any local ingredient from your home country? Do you think “terroir” in whisky is a real thing and how do you think it influences the end product?<\/strong><\/p>\n For our grain whiskies we use 100% local South African maize. The same maize which was exported to Scotland until the mid 1980\u2019s for their grain whisky production.<\/p>\n I believe the control over the different stages of the process have the most impact on the final product with obviously a very good wood policy in place. I learned very early in my career that \u201cyou cannot distill a good spirit from a bad fermentation but you can distill a bad spirit from a good fermentation\u201d<\/p>\n Our climate in South Africa is warmer than the majority of our Northern Hemisphere colleagues so our \u201cAngel\u2019s Share\u201d is substantially higher between 4%-5% a year. This however helps to accelerate the maturation process so we tend to find our whiskies portray themselves as much softer and mature at a younger age. This is also one of the reasons I look at style before age since 10 years in Scotland, Taiwan and South Africa are three different products. Therefore I believe although having a beautiful distillery in a beautiful part of any country around the world may create the romance and contribute to the story, one\u2019s control and understanding of the process plays a far greater role than where you are.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Craft distilling has become so huge, not a single day passes without a new distillery project or crowdfunding campaign being announced, Do you picture Three Ships as a craft distillery? As there’s still no official definition, how would you define the term “craft” in your own words?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n