David distills history of the dram

Books shows how whisky names are rooted in our past

has written magazine articles on the subject. The former Royal School of Dunkeld and Breadalbane Academy pupil says he has a relative he never met to thank for his interest in the subject.

“My grandfather had worked at Aberfeldy distillery, and while he died before I was born, there was always a sense of connection to the place,” he explains.

“When I left university, the first job I had was to work at Blair Athol distillery in Pitlochry, which was such a great place and environment to both work and learn the craft and something of the history of whisky – this is where the real passion took off.

“After moving to Edinburgh and eventually setting up the tour company, I specialized in whisky tourism, taking clients to Islay and Speyside on a regular basis.

“But, with Perthshire on the doorstep of both Edinburgh and Glasgow, which were usually the base cities, then visits to Glenturret or Edradour made great stops on single-day trips.”

While settled in New York, David is still drawn to his Perthshire home.

“My wife is from Minneapolis, in the US Midwest, so love as we do NYC, it is not ‘home’ to either of us,” he explains.

“Highland Perthshire has a charm all of its own, it always remains home – so yes, I can see us coming back at some point. I do retain close links with family, come across every other year and am a member of the Atholl Highlanders, which is an honour and important.

“I also arranged the 200th anniversary celebrations for Dunkeld

Bridge in 2009. None of that goes away – and in this day and age, I’m only six hours away, not half a world away.”

And pushed on picking a favourite whisky, he admitted: “I have a soft spot for Blair Athol 12 – personal connection aside, it is a very high-quality whisky, and I make sure to grab a couple of bottles from the distillery shop every time I’m home as you can’t get it Stateside.”

‘The Language of Whisky’ is available on Amazon.

It’s a chance to see the world our forefathers experienced through the lens of whisky