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Drinks trade recognised in Queen’s Birthday honours
Dennis Malcolm, master distiller of Glen Grant, and Jonathan Maltus, owner of Château Teyssier in St Emilion, are among the members of the drinks trade to have been made an OBE in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours..
Dennis Malcolm OBE
Dennis Malcolm, 70, was born at the Glen Grant malt plant in Rothes, Speyside, in 1946, and began working there as an apprentice cooper aged 15.
After working at several other distilleries, including Glenlivet, Malcolm returned to Glent Grant in 2006 when it was bought by Italy’s Gruppo Campari, becoming master distiller, and managed the distillery until last year.
Speaking to the Scottish Press and Journal, Malcolm said he was “gobsmacked” to receive the award in recognition for services to business and the community in Speyside.
“My dad and grandfather both worked in the whisky industry so it is a way of life for me, I was destined to be a part of it. I just love it, and I like to think of this honour as something that belongs to Speyside rather than me personally.”
Other members of the drinks industry to have been recognised by the Queen this year include Jonathan Maltus, sommelier and proprietor of Château Teyssier in St Emilion, who was made an OBE for his services to the wine industry.
Jonathan Maltus OBE
The Lagos-born owner of Château Teyssier bought wine brand Le Dôme in 1996 and went on to became the first Englishman to score 100 Parker points for Le Dôme 2010.
Alan Martin Dickie and James Watt, the founders of Scottish brewery BrewDog were also recognised for their services to the brewing industry.
The pair co-founded the company in 2007 and achieved revenue growth of 51% in 2015 to £44.7m. Earlier this year the pair launched their first spirits venture, the Lone Wolf Distillery, which will produce a range of vodka, whiskies and gins.
Kirsty Loveday, who founded Love Drinks in 2007, was awarded the British Empire Medal due to her “innovative, high impact work in services to the drinks industry”. Loveday is now managing director of the firm, which has a reported annual turnover of around £6 million, and works to identify and select premium drinks brands at the “forefront of drinks trends”.