Whiskey ambassadors are those who’s faces you often see smiling at you as they pour samples of their represented brand’s products at tastings and festivals. It is a sort of minor celebrity status many of these ambassadors end up taking up as a result of taking on these roles, and many have very interesting stories in how they got into the position they are in now.
In this latest edition of Whiskey Ambassador Corner we catch up with Charlotte Voisey, a London-born bartending expert who has mixed drinks and run bars in cities all over the world, including Barcelona, New York and Buenos Aires. She is a regular on American television and works as the brand ambassador for William Grant & Sons.
The Whiskey Wash (TWW): What exactly is a brand ambassador in the whisky world?
Charlotte Voisey: A Brand Ambassador is an educator, an entertainer, the face of the brand. Activities include conducting tastings and educational seminars about how whisky is made and how to enjoy whisky. An Ambassador will often partner up and sponsor high profile events where their brand of whisky is being poured. Essentially it is being a spokesperson for the brand.
TWW: What is life like being a Scotch brand ambassador?
Voisey: Scotch is arguably the most revered whisky category so it is a huge privilege to work as a Scotch Whisky Ambassador. You should have a certain amount of respect for tradition and the heritage of the spirit but also be in tune with today’s consumer and the trends of the moment. There is always a playful side to what we do. At the end of the day people drink to relax, socialise and have fun do you are wise to never lose sight of that.
TWW: How did you become to be an ambassador?
Voisey: I was a bartender and a bar manager for a number of years and very passionate about all spirits and cocktails. Through my relationships in the industry I was offered a job to move to America (from London) to become an Ambassador
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TWW: It doesn’t seem like there are a lot of female whiskey ambassadors. Why do you think that is and how do you see that changing?
Voisey: It is quickly changing, there are more and more female whisky ambassadors. There are also more and more female whisky drinkers so the category is becoming less male driven in general. It is good to have a nice mix.
TWW: Tell us one or two crazy stories you’ve had happen to you while on the road for William Grant & Sons?
Voisey: There have been the emergency landings in flight and the locked out of the rental car with passport and phone inside and mistaking the owner of the company for a delivery man but what stays with me most are nights like the one where we took a horse drawn carriage to dinner in the middle of the Colorado mountains by the light of a full moon. I can still remember the silence on the way there as we gazed at the most starry starry night. I also remember the vibrant jolly crew singing all the way back now filled with Glenfiddich cocktails and a stellar meal cooked on open fire. Another thing I never thought I would do was dress as a Juniper berry to help explain the botanicals that go into making Hendrick’s Gin.
TWW: What’s next for you as a brand ambassador?
Voisey: These days I represent the whole portfolio of spirits under William Grant & Sons, I head up the team of Ambassadors we have in the USA numbering 25 at the moment so there are plenty of challenges and ways to use my experience to see others bloom and bring our brands to life.
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