Blair Bowan, one of the Gurus featured in our Whisky Gurus feature earlier this month, has been awarded Scottish Whisky Communicator of the Year at The Whisky Magazine Awards.
As a whisky consultant and broker, Blair uses his expertise and global contacts to help clients make, sell and source the best whisky in the world. He celebrates whisky all over the world via talks, articles, and in-person events, and is the brains behind both World Whisky Day and the bestselling Pocket Guide to Whisky: featuring the WhiskyTubeMap.
Being crowned Whisky Magazine’s ‘Icons of Whisky, Scotland’ Communicator of the Year marks a perfect ending to Blair’s most successful period to date. In the face of the pandemic and its many challenges, he has seen his profile and client list grow as he continues to use his platform to reach new people and bring whisky fans and makers together.
Blair has also started a new role as nationwide Ambassador for Scotland Food & Drink, in further recognition of his prominent voice in the Scottish whisky industry.
Blair said: “I’m absolutely delighted and honoured to be given the award for Communicator of the Year, and to stand alongside so many icons of the Scottish whisky industry! My thanks go out to Whisky Magazine and the team that organised these awards, along with everyone else across Scotland helping to grow our industry and bring the best whiskies to the world.”
Other winners include The Glenturret Distillery which took the coveted Distiller of the Year title, Glengoyne was named Sustainable Distillery of the Year and Ballindalloch Distillery won Craft Producer of the Year.
With different ‘Icons of Whisky’ awards taking place in different regions – including Ireland, America, China and India – next year will see Blair and the other Scotland winners go on to compete for the global title.