Edrington has announced the retirement of Gordon Motion, Highland Park's master whisky maker. Motion retires after 27 years with the company, having joined in 1998 as assistant to the then-whisky quality manager.
Motion took over as master blender 10 years into his career with Edrington. As the world of whisky evolved and single malts became more prominent, his focus narrowed more acutely to Highland Park. Speaking to Whisky Magazine earlier this year, Motion said that the growth of single malts was the most exciting change in the industry during his career. ("[It’s] made my job a bit more difficult, because I have to come up with so many new products," he confessed, "...but it's just been the growth of single malts that has been the standout for me.")
Speaking on his retirement, Motion commented: “I want to thank Highland Park for being my home for close to three decades. As I reflect on those, there have been some truly special moments. From selecting 10 exceptional casks from 1968 to create landmark releases like our 56-year-old, through to playing a pivotal role in the growth of our single malt portfolio, together with introducing our first cask strength and global travel retail releases to the world.
"It’s been a great privilege and even better fun to have been a custodian of this truly great single malt whisky."
He will be succeeded in the role of master whisky maker by Marc Watson, who has held the role of master blender for the Famous Grouse and Naked Malt since 2023. The two brands were recently sold by Edrington to William Grant & Sons. Watson was named Distillery Manager of the Year in the Icons of Whisky 2023 Scotland round for his role at Holyrood Distillery, where he worked before moving to Edrington.
Motion added: "I couldn’t ask for a better successor than Marc Watson to take Highland Park into the future. His attention to detail, deep knowledge and love of whisky and distilling, together with his creative flair, makes him the ideal person to become Highland Park’s next master whisky maker."
Edrington said that Watson has been working alongside Motion for the past six months, to "immerse himself" in Highland Park's whisky stocks and flavour profile.
Watson commented: "I’ve always been a huge fan of Highland Park and its different by nature approach to whisky and to life and have a huge admiration for my predecessors who have created the legacy that makes it such a special single malt Scotch whisky. I am incredibly excited to build on the award-winning quality that Gordon has nurtured throughout his tenure, whilst also being able to bring my own creativity."
To celebrate Motion's legacy, Highland Park is releasing a limited-edition whisky. Sherry Skies is a 19-year-old single malt, blended from six sherry-seasoned casks from Jerez and three bourbon casks. Highland Park says the whisky has notes of "intense jammy fruit and sweet tannic spices", balanced with subtle smoke.
Motion said: "I’ve sampled 100,000s of casks during my 27-year career, and the nine selected for Sherry Skies deliver a unique depth of flavour — singing with the sherry sweetness that I have loved exploring and perfecting, balanced with the subtle hint of aromatic smoke of our Orkney heathered peat. I hope this farewell dram will give people as much joy savouring it as I had creating it."
Highland Park Sherry Skies is bottled at 48.8% ABV, sold at RRP £265. It is available at the Highland Park distillery and Albert Street story and via www.highlandparkwhisky.com.
