Kelsey McKechnie becomes Balvenie malt master
Scotch single malt brand The Balvenie has promoted Kelsey McKechnie to malt master, following her four-year apprenticeship.
McKechnie was appointed apprentice malt master in 2018 at the age of 26, training under David Stewart MBE.
McKechnie steps into her new role in the same year Stewart celebrates his 60th anniversary with Balvenie owner William Grant & Sons.
To mark his milestone, The Balvenie has released a commemorative bottling, The Balvenie Sixty, a 60-year-old single cask release selected and signed by McKechnie especially for Stewart’s anniversary.
Both Stewart and McKechnie will share the title of malt master at The Balvenie.
She said: “I couldn’t be more excited to continue my work with The Balvenie as a malt master. Over the past few years my relationship with David has evolved from a teacher to a mentor and now a friendship. I look forward to building my own legacy within the whisky industry, shaping and innovating, whilst honouring the tradition that The Balvenie is built on.”
McKechnie joined William Grant & Sons as a technical graduate in 2014, after completing a BSc in Biology and Biological Sciences at the University of West Scotland, and an MSc in Brewing & Distilling at Heriot-Watt University.
In a 2018 interview with scotchwhisky.com, McKechnie said she had hoped to ‘trump’ both Stewart’s and Glenfiddich malt master Brian Kinsman’s apprenticeship periods, which ran for 12 and eight years respectively.
Commenting on her achievement, McKechnie said: “My apprenticeship at The Balvenie taught me many things, but particularly about patience, collaboration and perseverance.
“Continuing our craft is a privilege and I look forward to seeing The Balvenie through the generations to come as a Malt Master.”
