Whisky People Dr. Bill Lumsden
36 Whisky Magazine | Issue 161I
nnovation has become something
of a buzzword of late. Whether it
be blasting maturing whisky with
sound, ‘double double’ ageing,
field-specific barley provenance,
Scottish rye spirit, or imbuing whisky
with ‘punk attitude’, it seems distillers
are rushing to one-up each other in their
pursuit of newness. This penchant for
pushing boundaries, whether real or
perceived, is, of course, not restricted to
the whisky industry. However, while the
fast-paced world of electronics can rely
on Moore’s law to double processing
power every two years and thus propel
each fresh batch of product offerings
to new technological heights, whisky
making innovation quite simply can’t
happen overnight.
Though out-of-the-box thinking can
take distillers down all sorts of weird
and wonderful paths, the guiding
handrails of industry regulation and the
necessary maturation X-factor of ‘time
in cask’ discourage (or simply make
impossible) the release of palatable
overnight novelties or liquids which
wildly diverge from the protected
characteristics of a particular style.
Nevertheless, a few vocal distillers,
more often than not owners or
employees of new enterprises, have
complained that these regulations- especially those protecting Scotch
whisky – are not guides but shackles
that benefit the big players while
preventing small producers from
bringing truly innovative products to
market. These critics look to the craft
scene in the US, mainland Europe
and beyond as the home of truly
experimental spirit. It’s a romantic
notion that plays well with the
underdog narrative of start-ups, but
does it hold water? I decided to drop
by the offices of The Glenmorangie
Company, in Edinburgh, to ask someone
who knows a thing or two about
leadership in innovation.
“Most things you can think of, apart
from the really crazy things (and I've
got a few of these up my sleeve), have
been done,” says Dr. Bill Lumsden,
director of distilling, whisky creation
and whisky stocks at The Glenmorangie
Company. “The mighty DCL almost
certainly has tried everything.”
Having spent many years with the
Distillers Company Ltd (DCL), the
precursor to Diageo, at the start of his
career – starting as a research scientist
and progressing to distillery manager,
with dips into quality assurance and
malting – he’s well situated to make
such a statement.
“I was laughing when one particular
distillery, not naming any names,
published a piece in the press a year or
two years ago about owning innovation
and doing this and that, and I thought,
‘every single thing, not only have
we done but other companies in the
industry have done before,’” adds Bill
with a wry grin. “Part of me is veryWORDS
CHRISTOPHER COATESTalking new-wave innovation with
Dr. Bill Lumsden, director of distilling at
The Glenmorangie Company
Culture Club
036-040-BillLumsden-WM161.indd 36 26/06/2019 12:36