What I’ve Learned a year into the role

So, it’s been almost a year! I joined One Cask at a Time last November, and somebody (I won’t say who) suggested I write a bit about how it’s gone. My first thought was “where do I even start?” My second was that I’d probably need a dram to work it out. So here we are, glass beside the keyboard, having a go. 

Let’s start with the casks 

People ask me what the best part of the job is, and honestly, it’s the casks. 

My title says Brand Ambassador, but I’m a lot more involved in what we release than that might suggest. Every cask sample that could become a One Cask at a Time bottling comes across my desk, and I’m the one who approves it or turns it down. It’s a huge privilege, and there are still days I must pinch myself to check it’s real. 

The first cask I ever signed off started out on a random Wednesday in a coffee shop in Glasgow. Russell, our Head of Brand, and I met up with a bunch of samples to work through, and one of them was a 15-year-old Glen Garioch from an ex-bourbon cask. It just spoke to me. I remember thinking “that’s a crowd pleaser”, and, well, the rest is history. 

Since then, it’s been an almost constant flow of samples. I know, it sounds like a tough gig. But as they say, someone must do it, so it might as well be me! 

The thing nobody really tells you is how different every single cask is. Same distillery, same year, same warehouse, and two casks can taste like they’ve come from opposite ends of the country. Some are ready. Some need a bit longer. Some are just quietly brilliant, and you can’t wait to show people. Learning to tell which is which has been the biggest education of my year. 

And then you get to see what happens next. Watching people taste a cask I picked, at an event, and seeing their faces light up is a feeling I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to. This year, two of my picks, our Ben Nevis 2013 (sold out) and Ledaig 2008 single casks (still available), were named finalists at the Scotch Whisky Awards, and I was seriously humbled. 

I’ve always said my job isn’t really a job, and I mean that. I LOVE what I do, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. 

Then there are the people 

If casks are the best part of the job, the people are a very close second. 

I’ve lost count of the tastings, masterclasses, festivals and trade shows I’ve done this year. A few highlights: the Indie Spirits Festival in Leith, the Slanj Whisky Festival at Murrayfield and, earlier in the year, Newcastle Indie. I love spending time in Newcastle at whisky events, and my masterclass audiences there were spectacular. In fact, they even helped decide what we’ll be bottling next! 

Some of my favourite nights, though, have been the small ones. Six or eight people round a table, nobody quite sure what they’re “supposed” to be getting, then someone goes “hang on… is that banana?” and suddenly everyone’s off. 

And the line I hear more than any other? “I don’t really like whisky.” Ha, where do I start… Usually, by the time I’ve finished with them, they like at least one of our bottlings. More than a few have gone home with a bottle under their arm after telling me they didn’t like whisky! 

The best question I’ve been asked (repeatedly!) this year is “do you need someone to carry your whisky samples?” It makes me laugh every time. What people don’t always see is the agonising elimination that goes into getting a cask to bottle: sample after sample, searching for the one that really stands out. That, and the 4am alarm calls… 

I’ve come to realise my job at a tasting isn’t to tell people what’s in the glass. It’s to get them to trust their own nose. There’s no wrong answer. If you’re getting strawberry laces, you’re getting strawberry laces, and I want to hear all about it! 

Behind the scenes (and behind the phone) 

The other big part of my year has been spent with a phone in my hand. Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn have become a much bigger part of the job than I expected, and I can now film a pour in one take. Well… three. 

What I love about it is getting to show people the bits they don’t normally see: what cask selection actually looks like, how a tasting note comes together, and the unglamorous stuff too. Funnily enough, that’s often what people find most interesting. 

Back to school (sort of) 

This year I’ve started studying sensory analysis and flavour compound development, and it’s completely changed the way I taste. Before, I’d describe a whisky by what it reminded me of. Now I’m starting to understand why: what’s behind that green apple note, where a hint of clove might be coming from, why one cask leans tropical and the next goes straight to toffee. 

It’s properly nerdy, and I love it! It’s made me better at the day job, too. When I’m going through samples or chatting to people at a tasting, I can explain what’s going on in the glass, instead of just saying “trust me, it’s nice.” 

And now… Moments 

This month we’ve launched Moments by One Cask at a Time, and I’ve been lucky enough to be part of it. I’ve worked closely with the brand team to take tasting notes and flavour assessments and turn them into creative execution and packaging. 

My favourite thing about the range is that the tasting notes are the focal point of every bottle design. I honestly never imagined anything I’d written ending up front and centre on a bottle, and it’s been a real highlight of my year. Anyone who’s spoken to me about the range will already know this, because I can’t stop telling people. I’m so proud of it! 

So… what’s the takeaway? 

Our tagline is “A true celebration of time.” When I started, I thought it was just a lovely line about whisky sitting in oak for years. It is that. But nearly a year in, I think it’s about a lot more. 

It’s the time you give a dram before you taste it. It’s an evening with a room full of strangers happily arguing over whether something’s more pear or more apple. And it’s this year, which has somehow flown by and felt like five years all at once. 

I’ve learned loads. I’ve still got loads to learn. And I’m still finding something new in every cask. 

If you see me at a tasting, come and say hello. I’ll pour you something great! 

Jamie, Brand Ambassador, One Cask at a Time