NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Balvenie,
the world's most handcrafted single malt Scotch whisky, and chef,
author and raconteur Anthony
Bourdain are proud to announce a multifaceted collaboration
that will bring attention to some of America's finest craftspeople.
The partnership will be three-fold and will see Bourdain take a
leading role in:
- A series of short films featuring makers from around the
country titled, Raw Craft
- The selection of the next two Fellows for the American Craft
Council Rare Craft Fellowship Awards in association with The
Balvenie
- Curating The Balvenie 2015 Rare Craft Collection
"For me, there is deep satisfaction in seeing people, with a
particular skill set and a real passion, produce a beautiful thing
which is why I'm excited to be a part of these programs in
partnership with The Balvenie," said Bourdain. "There is no doubt
for me, that if you can have it, you want the stuff where people
have taken their time, paid attention to and personally care about
how it was created. It is very important to me that these kinds of
crafts continue into the future and we value artisans who make the
decision to choose quality over quantity."
The Balvenie's alliance with craft is a result of the brand's
dedication to continuing the tradition of using the five rare
crafts of whisky making to create The Balvenie's distinctive taste
and exceptional quality. It is the only distillery that still grows
its own barley, malts in its own traditional malting floor, employs
coopers to tend every cask, a coppersmith to maintain the stills
and a malt master to ensure the resulting spirit is consistently
excellent.
"Our commitment to celebrating these incredible craftspeople is
a journey we've been on for many years and it all stems from the
fact that our approach to crafting our whisky has changed very
little in over a century," said Andrew
Weir, Senior Brand Manager, The Balvenie. "Collaborating
with Anthony Bourdain—who we were delighted to learn has long been
an admirer of our product—is a very exciting next step on this
journey. Anthony's personal passion for craft and craftspeople will
certainly raise a new level of awareness for the craft
movement."
Beginning February 2015 through
May 2016, Bourdain and The Balvenie
will work together on the following projects:
Raw Craft
Bourdain will serve as the host for Raw
Craft, which will give viewers an inspiring behind the scenes
look inside the workshops of some of the most talented, creative
and hardworking craftspeople in America. In The Balvenie
spirit, Bourdain will uncover the true meaning of
craftsmanship. Each film will showcase artisans guiding him
through the process while providing unique insight into the
dedication and sacrifice required to produce everyday items by
hand. The trailer for the online series of short films can be found
here – www.RawCraft.us – along with the first film in the series,
which highlights Borough Furnace, a metal casting workshop in
Syracuse, NY producing made to
order cast iron skillets in a unique and sustainable manner.
American Craft Council Rare Craft Fellowship Awards in
association with The Balvenie
Bourdain will serve as the
lead juror for this highly coveted award in both 2015 and 2016.
Presented annually for contributions to the maintenance and revival
of traditional or rare crafts in America, the Fellows will receive
an exclusive trip to Scotland and
a $10,000 endowment to go towards
materials to continue their crafts. The four additional finalists
will receive a $5,000 endowment. This
year the announcement will take place in New York City on March
10th, 2015.
The Balvenie 2015 Rare Craft Collection
In its third
year, The Balvenie 2015 Rare Craft Collection will continue as a
traveling exhibition featuring original works from some of
America's finest craftspeople. As curator for the Collection,
Bourdain will be an integral part of selecting a first-class group
of artisans dedicated to making handcrafted goods. Live
demonstrations, tutorials and Scotch whisky tastings with The
Balvenie will all be featured during this multi-city tour beginning
fall 2015.
More information on all of these initiatives is available to
members of The Balvenie's Warehouse 24. To sign up visit
https://us.thebalvenie.com/warehouse24/
About The Balvenie
The Balvenie is a unique range of
single malts created by David
Stewart, The Balvenie Malt Master, who celebrated his
50th year at the distillery in 2012. Each has a very
individual taste, but each is rich, luxuriously smooth and
underpinned by the distinctively honeyed character of The Balvenie.
The Balvenie is dedicated to the five rare crafts that are used to
create The Balvenie's distinctive taste. It is the only distillery
that still grows its own barley, uses traditional floor maltings
and keeps both coppersmiths and coopers on site – making The
Balvenie the most handcrafted of malts. The Balvenie Single Malt
Scotch Whisky is produced by William
Grant & Sons Ltd, an award-winning independent
family-owned distiller founded by William
Grant in 1886 and today run by his direct descendants.
The Balvenie core range includes The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year
Old ($54.99), The Balvenie 14 Year old Caribbean
Cask ($69.99), The Balvenie DoubleWood 17 Year
Old ($149.99), and The Balvenie PortWood 21 Year
Old ($219.99) in addition
to a variety of limited release expressions. For further
information visit www.thebalvenie.com.
About William Grant &
Sons
William Grant &
Sons, Ltd. is an independent family-owned distiller headquartered
in the United Kingdom and founded
by William Grant in 1887. Today, the
luxury spirits company is run by the fifth generation of his family
and distills some of the world's leading brands of Scotch whisky,
including the world's most awarded single malt
Glenfiddich®, The Balvenie® range of
handcrafted single malts and the world's third largest blended
Scotch Grant's® along with iconic premium spirits brands
Hendrick's® Gin, Sailor Jerry® Rum, Tullamore
Dew Irish Whiskey and Milagro® Tequila.
William Grant & Sons has been
honored as "Distiller of the Year" by the prestigious International
Wine & Spirit Competition and International Spirits Challenge
eleven times over the past 15 years, and most recently named
"International Spirits Producer of the Year" by the IWSC in
2014.
Founded in 1964, William Grant
& Sons USA is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of William Grant &
Sons, Ltd. and features one of the fastest growing spirits
portfolios in the USA with brands
including Glenfiddich, The Balvenie, Hendrick's Gin, Sailor Jerry
Rum, Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey, Milagro Tequila, Flor de Cana, Drambuie, Grant's, Hudson Whiskey,
Gibson's Finest, Monkey Shoulder, Clan MacGregor, Reyka Vodka,
Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur, Montelobos Mezcal, Ancho Reyes Chile
Liqueur, Lillet, Art In The Age, The Knot, and Raynal French Brandy. For more information on
the company and its brands, please visit www.grantusa.com.
Video - www.RawCraft.us
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150205/173767
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SOURCE The Balvenie