International Men's Day - celebrating at The Scotch Whisky Experience
It’s International Men’s Day and we are delighted to celebrate, thanking our brilliant team for all their hard work. Here are a few of our “Meet the Team” posts from the men at Scotch Whisky Experience
Meet Gregor MacDonald, one of our Visitor Experience Managers. Originally from the Isle of Jura, Gregor started with us back in August 2019 as a Senior Visitor Assistant. He is also a successful graduate of our Alastair S McIntosh Managerial Apprenticeship, a scheme introduced as part of our continued commitment to team development. We are delighted that he has progressed through the business, from his first role to Assistant Visitor Experience Manager and Tasting Team member to his current position looking after our visitors and supporting our visitor experience team.
🥃 What do you like best about your job?
Other than working with brilliant people, I love that I work in such a fun and bustling job! No two days are ever the same and I really love that. Being able to host whisky tastings for visitors from all over the world is a really rewarding part of the job.
🥃 What do you like to do in your free time?
Originally coming from a remote part of Scotland – I love to occasionally escape the city and get back to the hills for a big hike.
🥃 What is your favourite whisky?
As any whisky lover will tell you, narrowing down to just one is almost an impossible task. Staying loyal to my home brand, I would have to say a Jura Bay, but I’ve also always been a huge fan of Ardbeg Uigeadail and in more recent times I’ve also put Kilchoman Sanaig up there as well, so those three would be my top and I would struggle to choose between them.
Senior Visitor Assistant Max Maartense is originally from Holland. Max joined us a Visitor Assistant in 2022. He is also currently taking part in our Alastair S McIntosh Managerial Apprenticeship, a scheme introduced as part of our continued commitment to team development.
🥃 What do you like best about your job?
I love that every day is different and full of learning, thanks to the various training opportunities.
🥃 What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time I enjoy a mix of baking, cooking and gardening (although I don’t have a garden at the moment 😔). I also take part in long distance running.
🥃 What is your favourite whisky?
It may be a bit of an expensive choice, but I really like the Octomore, especially the 9.1 that I have at home which I won in a baking competition.
This months ‘Meet the Team’ feature is our Head of Business Development, Pietro Cecchini. Pietro has been working with us for nearly 5 years and we hope there are many more to come!
🥃 What do you like best about your job?
The people: I’m so lucky to work with such a wonderful bunch of people here at The Scotch Whisky Experience and across Scottish tourism generally. It’s an absolute breath of fresh air when everyone works together in partnership, inspiring each other to deliver excellence in all that we do and at each stage of the visitor journey.
🥃 What do you like to do in your free time?
When I’m not busy on daddy taxi service duty, I enjoy catching up with family and friends over coffee & cake! 🍰 Anyone who knows me well knows I love my food and cooking simple Italian dishes. To burn off the calories, I train regularly at Wolfpack Martial Arts, doing kickboxing, cardio and body weight fitness – they’re also part of my extended family!
🥃 What is your favourite whisky?
Ooh, it’s easily Glendronach 18-year-old. It was love at first taste! Rich, chocolatey and mapley, with hints of blackcurrant and sweet sherry. 🍁🍫 Absolutely yummy! The whole storytelling and whisky tasting experience was heavenly and one I’ll always cherish.
Meet Jethro from our Events and Hospitality team. You may recognise him as he was a Senior Visitor Assistant and Tour Guide with us for four years and has starred in a few of our film and photoshoots!
🥃 What do you like to do in your free time?
At the risk of sounding incredibly dull, ‘Dungeons and Dragons’. 🎲 I started playing it with my pals in the darkest depths of lockdown when the tedium of online pub quizzes was just gnawing on us all, and it turned out to be a really good platform for keeping in touch with folks. I play a man-sized turtle who kills ghouls with his harmonica – so it’s not too different to my regular life. 🐢
🥃 What is your favourite whisky?
It’s surely impossible to pick just one, so I’m going to bend the rules, if that’s allowed, and pick a category instead. My absolute favourite thing to drink is something called Single Grain Scotch Whisky. Hardly anyone has heard of it before they come on the Tour, but it’s worth seeking out; it strips Scotch whisky back to the sheer fundamentals – grain, water, yeast and cask. It’s easy-going, versatile, and works in just about any cocktail you can think of. There’s only seven distilleries left who still make it the old-fashioned way, and my goal is to eventually tour them all. That’s not as easy as it sounds – none of them generally accept visitors!
🥃 What do you like best about your job?
Let me pinpoint one single moment in time. After the culinary delights from Chef are consumed, after the magic of the whisky tasting, after the evening’s entertainment that you meticulously planned has run its course –– and from the corner of the eye you espy two guests, drams in hand – two guests that you know didn’t know each other from Adam when the evening began – leaning in to converse and laugh together, each with a soft smile. To know that you brought