“I sniff whiskey for a living, so ultimately, I’m doing well.”
Marc Watson has been at his new gig at Highland Park for a relatively short time by whisky standards, but as the new(ish) master whisky maker, he’s embracing the role with good humor and serious dedication. Watson took over the role from a now-retired Gordon Motion late in the summer.
It’s hard to replace an icon who was with Highland Park for decades, but the distillery is in good hands. Watson has more than a decade of industry experience and has earned several accolades, including Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky Distillery Manager of the Year award. He most recently served as master blender for The Famous Grouse and Naked Malt but was also able to spend more than half a year working alongside Motion in what sounds like an immersive apprenticeship.
I spoke with Watson this fall just after the release of Between You and I, a new collaborative collection of single malts from Highland Park. The first release (which is actually two bottles, one being a travel retail exclusive) is a partnership with Swedish multi-Michelin-starred chef, Björn Frantzén, who tasted the whisky and offered personal tasting notes that inspired the design on the packaging. In a twist, the bottle foregoes tasting notes and instead comes with a set of prompts like ‘What music do you taste?” to “help spark personal associations.”
And then there’s Cask Strength: Heather, a new single malt crafted from 100% peat-smoked barley and offered at, natch, cask strength (63.6% ABV). It’s a standout, much like Highland Park’s other Cask Strength releases, but also a reimagining of the product and an ideal showcase for the local heathered peat that helps define Highland Park. It’s full of sweet campfire notes, fruit, caramel, ginger, a hint of salinity and oak spice, and it’s honestly one of my favorite whiskies of the year.
Our Q&A with Watson, below, edited for clarity.
InsideHook: How has the transition been so far?
Marc Watson: The business did a really cool thing — I got seven months of working with Gordon one-to-one, and he never refused any of my calendar invites to ask about really minute details or big things. I had a proper apprenticeship. And Gordon was so patient with me and really let me ask proper questions.
Did anything surprise you?
My notes look like a child’s scrawl in comparison to the notes Gordon has taken over the years. You’re often told that big distilleries are all about yield; Gordon told me I had to knock that thinking off. Gordon has spreadsheet after spreadsheet of insights into decision-making. It’s incredible.
Why Highland Park Is Like No Other Single Malt
It’s now easier than ever to enjoy the award-winning whisky, which offers something unique in the Scotch worldWas this a job you had thought about before?
It’s been a dream job of mine. When I was doing independent bottling for Holyrood, some liquid we bought was definitely from an Orkney distillery that made lightly peated whisky. It was one of the first whiskies I played with and put out into the world. I have such a soft spot for that incredible, ethereal smoke that runs through it all.
Also, when I was playing Warhammer and Dungeons and Dragons with my mates, we all brought around Highland Park. Those were our drams, Highland Park Dragon Legend and Highland Park 12.
You actually studied distilling in school. That’s not common over here.
There’s just one place to get degrees, Heriot-Watt, but there’s also the Institute of Brewing and Distilling, where you can get diplomas from. I did my Master’s in Brewing and Distilling at Heriot-Watt. I was in the same year as Owen Martin, who is now at Angel’s Envy, and Isaac Winter, who’s at Constellation Brands — and so many others, like Euan Kennedy at The Macallan. It’s where you go to learn. But there are a plethora of other routes into brewing and distilling, especially in Scotland.
What do you think made Highland Park hire you?
I’m such a fan of heritage and history. I also think you need the right blend of continuity and creativity. My job is to keep the core the same and keep it consistent, but also to excite people to be creative and forward-thinking.
Between You and I is a really different release, as it asks the person drinking to consider the whisky differently.
For Between You and I, Gordon was given a cue from the brand team that there was a person we wanted to collaborate with. And famously, I hate tasting notes, so this product works for me because it’s very singular. Tasting notes are great for a common language. They’re very good for quality control, but they’re a very singular proposition. And I think we’re used to whiskey coming with a list of tasting notes, but this is slightly different. It’s more personal. What does it evoke for you? A treasured memory, a favorite song? And no two people will taste the same thing.
How did Bjorn inspire the release?
There are Swedish oak casks in there because Gordon knew he was making it for a Nordic chef. There are some French casks in there because Bjorn is inspired by French cooking techniques. And [Bjorn’s] personal tasting notes inspired the packaging. I think when you’re partnering with somebody that is the only chef in the world to have three Michelin stars in three restaurants — the dude knows flavor but his learned flavors are completely different to mine and completely different from Gordon’s.
The cask strength release is a little different as well.
It’s 100% peat-smoked barely. If you think about the 12-year-old release being smoky, this is nine times the amount. It’s massively aromatic. It has wonderful European and American sherry casks in it and some lovely refill casks where the distillery character comes through. It’s a real sense of place whiskey that can only be made using the heathered peat we cut on the kilns that we have and through our stills. For me, it evokes a campfire on the beach. It’s nutty, buttery and has an incredible oakiness to it. It’s a real celebration of our signature ingredient.
I’m just discovering cask-strength Scotch expressions. Is that not as common a thing in Scotland?
I think we’re on our fifth cask strength. This is not six — this is sort of a reset. I think cask strength is probably just another avenue of exploration for the makers of what we can do with flavor and ABV.
Is this a good or a bad time to be in the whisky world?
People want exciting propositions, and people are pushing the boundaries of flavor and pushing the boundaries of what is exciting. I think it’s an exciting time to be a maker in that space — the days of putting out a 12, a 15, an 18 and that’s it, that’s gone. Conversely, whiskey is a long-term project. Even if there was a trend happening right now, I’m not going to snap my fingers and be able to jump on it.
Finally, and somewhat off-topic, I hear you’re a fan of Daiquiris.
I have a whole folder in my phone just of Daiquiri recipes that I’ve had. I like changing the rum base. I like the juxtaposition between the distillery character and the sourness of the lime and the sweetness of the sugar. I think when it’s dark spirits all day — and I try to get through like 1,300 samples a month, plus my production samples and my blends on top of that — I want something light and bright.
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