A Scotch Whisky veteran has announced he is retiring following a career spannign five decades working on some of the most famous single malts.
Alan McConnochie is stepping down from his position as distillery manager for Brown-Forman’s single malt Scotch whisky distilleries.
He was responsible for overseeing The GlenDronach, Benriach and Glenglassaugh distilleries, which has been in charge of since 2004.
He will be replaced by the current distillery's production manager Laura Tolmie from April, having worked alongside McConnochie since 2017.
She has a background in chemical and process engineering as well as extensive experience in maltings and distilleries across Scotland.
McConnochie’s career commenced at the White Horse Distillers in 1973in the bottling halls and was awarded the ultimate accolade in the whisky industry in 2018 - the Keeper of the Quaich.
His distillery career started when he was appointed assistant manager at Plymouth Gin in Devon before moving to Laphroaig on Islay.
Alan McConnochie, said: “It's been an incredible privilege to oversee the distilleries of some of the industry's finest single malt whiskies. The one element I will miss the most is the camaraderie of both the distillery team and the whisky industry as a whole. Being a part of the launch of The GlenDronach Aged 50 Years in January was a particularly proud moment, having personally helped to nurture those casks over the years.
I couldn’t be happier to hand over the reins to Laura, who is very well suited to continue to build the future of our skilled and passionate distillery team.”
Laura Tolmie, added: “It's an absolute honour to be given the opportunity to be the custodian of these three stunning single malt distilleries, each with their own unique character and history and so highly regarded in the industry. Combined with the passion and drive that the distillery teams have for the whiskies, I am extremely excited to be a part of the amazing futures of Benriach, Glenglassaugh and The GlenDronach.”
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