The Single Cask has revealed the panel of whisky lovers selected to be its ‘taste masters’. The whisky bottler opened applications for the role in February.

Crucial to the role will be the taste masters’ ability to identify the emotion and story behind each whisky. Earlier this year, the Single Cask rebranded its whiskies to be categorised by mood, as part of an effort to demystify the flavours of whisky. Taste masters will help to identify whether a whisky fits into the playful, cheerful, curious, bold, or easy-going mood categories.

Jan Damen, general manager at the Single Cask, said: “It is with great excitement that we announce our first-ever panel of ‘taste masters’. We only bottle exciting and entertaining whiskies worth talking about, so we wanted to work with exciting and entertaining flavour experts. All of our selected candidates have the charisma and creativity we were looking for. We are already so impressed with our talented taste masters, there’s lots of excitement on the horizon for the Single Cask!”

Eight taste masters have been selected to join the panel:

• Dr Christopher White, whisky writer, presenter, and judge, whose prodigious tasting experience includes judging the World Whiskies Awards.
• Imogen Russon-Taylor, founder and CEO of fragrance house Kingdom Scotland, selected for her experience uniting scent and storytelling.
• Rob Robinson, founder of Whisky Ventures, the charity through which he has cycled across Scotland and Wales, visiting distilleries and raising money.
• Maria Scala, wine and spirits judge and consultant whose experience in the fine dining field led her to drinks expertise.
• Steven Shand, marketing and design consultant and whisky content creator who has previously been a blind taster for Whisky Magazine.
• Lucy Connor, recent graduate of the OurWhisky Foundation mentorship programme, whose skills were honed as bartender, tour guide, and host.
• Mark Watt, who founded the independent bottler Campbeltown Whisky Company with his wife Kate in 2019, and brings his experience in cask selection.
• John Lamond, whisky writer and educator, Master of Malt, Keeper of the Quaich, and renowned expert.

The taste masters will begin their roles immediately.