Family-owned for five generations, single-malt Scotch brand the Balvenie is big on the traditional hands-on process of distilling whiskey. In a bid to highlight its commitment to such, the brand kicked off a mobile marketing campaign to find other like-minded companies and individuals. Led by ambassadors Nicholas Pollacchi and Andrew Weir and dubbed the Balvenie "Rare Craft Roadshow," the traveling promotion was launched with a tasting and presentation on Monday, and in the next year will tour the U.S. to ferret out workshops, studios, and stores still creating products by hand.
"The Balvenie is unique in that nowhere else will you find a distillery that still grows its own barley, malts in its own traditional malting floor, employs coopers to tend every cask, a coppersmith to maintain the stills, and a malt master to ensure that the resulting spirit is consistently excellent. We realize this approach may not be as economical or as profitable as it could be, but as a family-owned distillery, we do it because we can, and because we know it's the best way to ensure quality throughout the whiskey making process. We want to recognize those who feel the same way about their respective crafts," Weir said.
In a custom car from the Morgan Motor Company, a British manufacturer that still assembles its vehicles by hand, Weir and Pollacchi will visit places like Latta, South Carolina's custom chair-maker Shade Tree Woodworking; cigar producer Rocky Patel in Bonita Springs, Florida; St. Croix Chocolate Company from Minnesota's Marine on St. Croix; and Boundary Bay Brewery, in Bellingham, Washington. People can nominate artisans and companies making handcrafted wares through a dedicated Web site, and the pair will blog and tweet about their travels from the road. The Balvenie will also capture the road trip on video, content that will be posted online and later used for a documentary.
Appropriately, for the New York launch presentation at Vintry Wine & Whiskey, Weir and Pollacchi wore bespoke suits from specialty tailor Doyle Mueser and toasted the tour with a special tasting of the Balvenie's 40-year-old single malt for its guests. The Morgan car was displayed on the cobblestone streets, standing between Vintry and Ulysses, the bar that served as the site of the after-party.