Becoming the master whisky maker for one of Scotland’s oldest and most respected distilleries might just be every whisky nerd’s dream.
So it’s no surprise that self-professed whisky nerd Marc Watson, the new master whisky maker for Highland Park at Edrington, is a happy man.
Marc, a graduate of the Heriot Watt Brewing and Distilling postgraduate course, cut his teeth in the drinks industry at the now-defunct Old Worthy Brewing Co in Edinburgh before moving into spirits with roles at companies including Shetland Distillery and Eden Mill, where he helped the company move into whisky production for the first time.
It was a big move for Eden Mill, but an even bigger one for Marc.
“I tried beer and it was right but it wasn’t quite right,” Marc told SLTN.
“The porridge was too hot or too cold.
“Gin was the other way. I really enjoyed the creativity of gin, but it’s almost limitless and so it becomes almost trivial. You can do anything you want with gin.
“Whereas, because of the rules around whisky, what it has to be, those rules almost focus your creativity. For me, that was the ‘just-right’ moment of ‘I love this. I love doing this. It’s not a job’. I don’t have to do this. I get to do this. That feeling I have with whisky is amazing.”
In 2018 Marc got the chance to delve even deeper into that feeling when he was recruited by Halewood to launch the company’s Bonnington Distillery in Leith.
Then it was onto another Edinburgh distillery, Holyrood, to head up distilling and operations under his old boss, Nick Ravenhall.
While he has fond words for each of these roles, Marc found himself suffering from the same issue many face when being promoted further through their chosen career: he was moving further away from the job that attracted him to the industry in the first place – making whisky.
And then, in 2023, Edrington announced that it was seeking a new master blender for Scotch stalwart The Famous Grouse.
“For me, creativity and working with a liquid is something I love. And I kept finding myself – at Eden Mill, Halewood and then at Holyrood – getting further away from the liquid,” said Marc.
“The Famous Grouse job came up and I spoke to Nick and he said ‘you’ve got to go for it. If that’s what you want to do – be a whisky maker full time – you’ve got to go for it’. And that was it.”
Marc joined Edrington in July 2023, responsible for The Famous Grouse while also able to learn from veteran whisky makers such as Gordon Motion (Highland Park) and Laura Rampling (Glenrothes, now head of whisky making – estate brands, for Edrington).
Motion, in particular, became an important mentor for Marc as he announced that he would be retiring from his position as master whisky maker for Highland Park, with Marc then lined up as his successor.
Gordon’s teaching, said Marc, has been a game-changer.
“I love learning, and I’ve been very fortunate in that the mentors I’ve had have wanted to teach me and been patient enough to teach me.
“Things like ‘if it’s not right it doesn’t go’. That’s a big thing for Gordon.
“I think when you’re young in your career and there’s deadlines coming, it’s almost counter-intuitive, but you have to have the confidence to say ‘I’m not happy with this, I’m not 100% on this, and therefore take it out, look at it again’.
“Gordon was amazing at teaching. I will very much miss him, because of the way he taught and how he is – his patience – but also his attitude.
“He’s been an incredible mentor for me in the last two years.”
The master whisky maker title brings with it prestige, but also responsibility.
None of that is lost on Marc.
He said: “It’s an incredible honour, both professionally and personally.
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a little scary, because it isn’t just a distillery; it’s a legacy.
“Orkney has so much heritage wrapped around Highland Park, and Orkney’s wild beauty is wrapped up in that bottle as well. So for me it’s just deep respect for the tradition and the place. To be entrusted with that legacy as the current custodian is something I really don’t take lightly.
“I think there’s a small amount of trepidation, but I think you’ve got to have confidence in that too. I can’t be scared of it. It’s not just about great whisky, it’s about the story, the place. It’s about the heather into the peat into the floor maltings, through the distillery. That whole place is wrapped in stories and it’s bigger than any one person.
“Gordon and the previous master whisky makers have just created an incredible legacy of whiskies. Worldies. Absolute worldies.”
The first Marc-created whiskies from Highland Park will be seen later this year, but before that there will be final releases created by Gordon and then several that were joint efforts by both whisky makers.
“You’ll see Gordon’s brain and then a bit of shared, gestalt, love -of-Highland-Park brain that is him and I working together.
“And then that’ll transition to my brain and whiskies from me.
“There’s something that really excites me about that middle bit. Because it’s he and I standing in the sample room.
“It’s an incredible snapshot of time that I am so excited about, because it’s so collaborative.
“We didn’t fall out once.”
‘Quality over everything’ is Marc’s maxim for Highland Park moving forward, and he’s well aware that contemporary whisky fans have more of a voice than they’ve ever had, thanks to community groups on sites such as Reddit. In fact, it’s not unknown for Highland Park’s new master whisky maker to visit those exact sites in order to get a feel for what whisky fans are passionate about.
And keeping the brand’s fans happy is a big part of the job, said Marc.
“For me, there’s two parts of what I want to do and be remembered for at Highland Park,” he said.
“Those are consistency of core – making sure that what Gordon and the previous master blenders of Highland Park created stays consistent. And then also bringing in my own creativity. Respecting the tradition that’s already there but exciting consumers.
“You’ve got to have both of it now; you’ve got to embrace innovation and keep the portfolio moving forward, but also maintain that core range. Because modern consumers have got more choice than ever and more information than ever.
“It’s important to respect them.”
