Former Macallan master distiller Dr Nick Savage is set to join Lowland distillery Bladnoch from 1 July.
As Bladnoch’s master distiller, Savage will replace Ian MacMillan, who left the distillery in January to establish his own whisky consultancy firm.
Savage said: ‘The vision and ambition shown by [Bladnoch CEO] David Prior and the team at Bladnoch distillery played a huge part in my decision to join the Bladnoch business.
‘The opportunity also allows me a new challenge in single malt Lowland Scotch whisky from a 200-year-old distillery.’
At Bladnoch, Savage joins newly-appointed distillery manager Neil Bulloch, who was previously mentored at the distillery by MacMillan prior to his departure.
Before his three-year tenure at Macallan, Savage was a distilling technical leader at William Grant & Sons’ Girvan distillery and had a four-year stint at Diageo.
The appointment follows news that Macallan stalwarts, whisky maker Bob Dalgarno and former creative director Ken Grier, have also left the business to lead the team at Glenturret distillery, which was recently acquired by luxury goods business Lalique.
Bladnoch distillery spent a decade in mothballs before restarting production in 2017, producing several limited edition whiskies including, most recently, a wine cask-finished 17-year-old expression.
