Over his three-decade-plus career with Fettercairn, Stewart Walker has had, by his own admission, “all the jobs”. Stewart first joined Fettercairn in a warehouse role.From there, his career has taken him on his own, long and thorough, distillery tour. He moved into production, working in mashing and distillation, then in 2003 became distillery brewer. This year, Stewart will mark a decade in the role of Fettercairn’s distillery manager, to which he was appointed in 2015.

Whisky #1

Fettercairn

16 Years Old

I would definitely have to have a Fettercairn whisky on a desert island, and the 16 is a phenomenal whisky…. We’re so lucky at Fettercairn, although we’ve been here for 200 years that, you know, it’s only recently that Fettercairn has probably been recognised. It’s only the last 10 to 15 years that Fettercairn’s started to come into single malts, you know, but we’ve brought out some lovely single malts since 2018. But the malts that we’re bring out, the 28 Years Old, the 40 Years Old, the 50 Years Old, you’re going back to the ’70s and all that when these whiskies were being made, and that has got its own charm… I’ve got a huge passion for Fettercairn Distillery to just be recognised.

Whisky #2

Glencadam

21 Years Old

If you’re stranded on an island, the way I look at it is that you need to keep your taste buds topped up with excitement. One I’m going to take with me is actually from our neighbours at Fettercairn. I would have taken the Glencadam 21 Years Old. I think it’s a typical Highland malt whisky which is full of character, body, you know, it’s just a lovely fulfilling dram to me… We’re proud to be neighbours with them. I love this particular age just because of the spiciness and the flavours that come through and the note that gets me on the 21 Years Old is the lovely spearmint note that you get at the end of it. It’s fantastic. I get a spicy kinda ginger, kinda spearmint note.

Whisky #3

Talisker

10 Years Old

I went to Skye a few years ago, and what a beautiful place, right? It’s just a stunning area of that part of Scotland. It’s so rugged, so muscly, just like an island should be, if you get what I mean. And this whisky matches it. I was in Skye maybe three years ago… we were going to the Skye Games and I thought we’ll nae book nothing. We’ll be alright, what’s the worst that can happen? Well, apart from the worst storm I’ve ever seen in my entire life hitting the sky nothing happened, right. So picture me with a tent, trying to tie it to the car wheels, and I was lying on it just to literally stop it blowing away. Eventually I did fall asleep... I always get a dark coffee with the 10 Years Old. That was what was in my head, when I was tasting it. The saltiness, a kick of the peat smoke. I just love it because it’s perfect for if you were sitting in Skye on a summer’s night, right? It’s probably Skye in a glass, for me.

Whisky #4

Glenfarclas

15 Years Old

You cannot be on a desert island and not take a Speyside single malt with you. You know, you just have to. This is a difficult choice because there’s some amazing Speyside whiskies. There’s some beautiful whiskies and I just like the Glenfarclas 15 Years Old because it’s a typical, real Speyside seller. It’s got that lovely natural elegance and finesse and just tells you everything you need to know about Speyside — totally opposite from where we were in Skye. If I was getting rescued from this desert island, I probably wouldn’t go without this dram.

Whisky #5

Old Pulteney

25 Years Old

I don’t know if you’ve ever been up in the north of Scotland and that area… it must be a challenging place to stay up there. I went up to Halkirk Games and you kind of get beyond like Helmsdale and that and beyond that there’s nothing. It’s just barren moor, you know, it’s like geez, you could lose someone up there. And then you drive and Halkirk appears and then Wick appears. They just appear from nowhere, and they’re communities in their own right, they’re beautiful communities. But it must be such a challenge, and it must have been, years ago, such a challenging place to have stayed and worked. And this whisky, this whisky to me just sums it up… it’s so east of Scotland: ruggedness, coastal, that saltiness.

Luxury item

Record player & records

I love listening to all kinds of music, particularly music from when I was growing up in the ’70s and ’80s and that. If I’m sitting there playing Bruce Springsteen or something from the ’80s with a nice Talisker or a nice Pulteney, I think we’re all right.