The Balvenie partners with Bourdain

Single malt Scotch The Balvenie has collaborated with American chef Anthony Bourdain on a trio of initiatives that highlight the importance of craftsmanship.

Anthony Bourdain

Bourdain has worked with the William Grant & Sons-owned brand on a series of short films entitled Raw Craft that shine a light on craftsmen and women across America.

The TV chef will also be a lead judge in the American Craft Council Rare Craft Fellowship Awards that recognise contributions to the revival or maintenance of craft traditions in the US.

Finally, Bourdain will curate The Balvenie Rare Craft Collection, a travelling exhibition of handcrafted goods featuring demonstrations, tutorials and Scotch tastings.

“There’s deep satisfaction in seeing people with a particular skill set and a real passion produce a beautiful thing. 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,” said Bourdain.

“It’s very important that these kinds of crafts continue into the future and we value artisans who make the decision to choose quality over quantity,” he added.

“Our commitment to celebrating incredible craftspeople stems from the fact that our approach to crafting our whisky has changed very little in over a century,” added Andrew Weir, senior brand manager of The Balvenie.

The Balvenie range includes DoubleWood 12 Year Old, 14 Year old Caribbean Cask and PortWood 21 Year Old.