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29th October 2009 |
Still Here
Amongst The Stills
 I’m Dennis McBain, coppersmith at The
Balvenie Distillery. I’ve been told that
I’m an endangered species. I’m now the
only remaining resident coppersmith at a
distillery in Scotland, which makes me
both very honoured and proud. I began at
The Balvenie Distillery in 1958 as a
maltman, but was soon drawn to the
copper ~ and in 1959 moved to the
workshop.
Having a resident craftsman in the first
place was an innovative step by the
distillery managers. In those days most
distilleries bought in the craft as and
when required, even in those days of
mainly coal-fired stills. Since the
conversion to steam the stills need far
less maintenance, and even less so since
the steam has been fired by gas. It’s a
cleaner heat, without the abrasive
particles that used to give the copper
its hard life. Apart from that, since
1959 my actual job has changed very
little, as the time-honoured,
handcrafted techniques that are the
hallmark of The Balvenie have remained
the same as when I first joined. Let me
cast my mind back.
Getting The Job
I applied for the job in an
unconventional way, waiting outside the
local cinema to introduce myself to the
formidable “Brewer” and then following
him home three times before I plucked up
the courage to speak. I needn’t have
worried: he knew my father from the
distillery, so he promised to bear me in
mind should anything come up ~ which is
how I found myself building up my
strength at ‘The Balvenie Gym’ (the
maltings) for a full 49-hour week before
overtime. Becoming the coppersmith’s
apprentice meant a rise of a penny an
hour and less physical labour. My
apprenticeship was five years plus one
‘improver’ year, after which I was paid
the full coppersmith’s rate.
Keeping Things In Shape:
Originally we made the stills here but
since 1972 we’ve had them made outside
and maintained them on-site. Of the
still currently in use, the bottom of
No.2 Wash still is a remnant of an
entire still made by me, probably over
30 years ago. The reason it soldiers on
is that it was made thicker and stronger
to withstand direct coal fire, which we
soon moved on from ~ so like me it’s a
living, working reminder of how things
were done in a previous age. These days
my role is more advisory than active, as
the big stills demand hard physical work
~ but the ongoing replacement programme
requires the experienced eye of a career
coppersmith, to decide which part is
replaced next and ensure
A Full Career:
My time here has been full of
fascinating experiences. Beyond these
walls it’s been immensely satisfying to
observe the keen interest in The
Balvenie across the world, knowing that
every drop for the past fifty years
comes from a copper still tended here in
Dufftown by me. In the course of my work
I’ve also met the Duke of Edinburgh ~ a
very pleasant man to talk with. There
can’t be many who are still in jobs that
remain pretty much unchanged since 1959,
but the Duke and Queen Elizabeth are two
of them.
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Whisky's Longest Serving Coppersmith
|
Read more about Dennis McBains 50 Years
at The Balvenie:
Dennis McBain Whisky's Longest Serving
Coppersmith
|
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