A ‘nose’ for the right blend

On a visit to India, “master blender” Stuart Harvey tells us what his work entails

Ever wondered what a day in the life of a “master blender” entails? Stuart Harvey is just the man to tell you. Stuart is considered the only master brewer in the industry and works with Inver House Distillers. On a recent trip to Mumbai, for the launch of their range of core single malts — Old Pulteney, Balblair and Speyburn — Stuart took some time to talk to us about his work and what it entails.

“A blender’s best friend is his nose,” says Stuart, who stands tall at 6 ft 5 inches and speaks in a heavy brogue. His journey began after he secured a degree in biochemistry from the University of Glasgow, and worked for a while in the beer brewing industry. “That was a real learning experience for me and I got to learn basically everything about beers.

Then I worked in Yorkshire for five years, brewing various kinds of ales. And I think that the sense of taste I have, comes from those years in the brewing industry.” Stuart’s first brush with the whiskey industry was back in 1995, when he joined the Highland Distillery in Scotland. Having always loved whiskey, Stuart found it an enriching experience and it was then that he became a master blender, working with the most reputed Scotch and whisky brands. His association with Inver House began in 2003.

A typical day for Stuart begins with him reaching his office at the distillery in Airdrie by 8 am. After perusing what new orders have come in for blends or single malts, he checks with his team if blending is going as per schedule and that casks have been delivered for “nosing” or blending. By 11.30 am, Stuart is ready for the tricky task of “nosing” — he says his nose is “most sensitive” before lunch, and therefore the best time to work on single malts and blends.

Planning deliveries of casks takes up some time, and Stuart needs to schedule regular visits to the other malt distilleries as well — in Speyside (to nose caska at Knockdhu and Speyburn) and the Northern Highlands (for Balblair and Pulteney). “I am very proud that I have personally nosed over 1,00,000 casks so far… You need strong sensory skills to be able to tell which casks to keep for which batch. “In my career I have been very traditional about the whole distilling process. And with the brands we are launching now too, we have stuck to tradition as much as possible,” Stuart tells us.

About his experience in India and the market here for single malts, he says, “The market for single malt is certainly growing and there has been a boom for some time now in the industry. Basically, the premium whiskey drinkers here are growing in numbers and we want to bring them original and traditional tastes and they too want to experiment with what they drink.”