After nearly 50 years in the whisky business, industry veteran Alan McConnochie is retiring. He had overseen three different distilleries, including production of single malts since 2004. Appointed by Brown-Forman in 2017, current distilleries production manager Laura Tolmie will take over from McConnochie from April.
Commenting on his retirement and esteemed career, McConnochie said the following: “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. 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.”
McConnochie begun his first job in the bottling hall of White Horse Distillers in 1973, with his first distillery role coming years later when appointed Assistant Manager at Plymouth Gin. He reached several major milestones throughout his career, but its claimed he considers the reopening of Benriach Distillery as his greatest moment.
On her new role, Tolmie: “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.”
Alan McConnochie
Commenting on his retirement and esteemed career, McConnochie said the following: “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. 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.”
McConnochie begun his first job in the bottling hall of White Horse Distillers in 1973, with his first distillery role coming years later when appointed Assistant Manager at Plymouth Gin. He reached several major milestones throughout his career, but its claimed he considers the reopening of Benriach Distillery as his greatest moment.
Laura Tolmie
On her new role, Tolmie: “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.”
