Hall of Fame

Born in Pitlochry in Perthshire in the Highlands of Scotland, Ian Millar joined William Grant & Sons in 1998.

Ian has over 40 years’ experience in Scotch, having worked for 13 distilleries in a number of technical and production roles. He was previously distillery manager at the Bladnoch, Mortlach, Blair Athol, Dalwhinnie, Linkwood and Glen Elgin distilleries before joining William Grant & Sons, where he was distillery manager for both Glenfiddich and The Balvenie.

Ian moved into his current role as prestige whisky specialist for William Grant & Sons in 2016. He had spent the previous decade as global brand ambassador for Glenfiddich travelling the world building love and desire for Glenfiddich with consumers, bartenders, collectors, connoisseurs, journalists and bloggers.

During Ian’s tenure, Glenfiddich went from strength to strength and he played a pivotal role in helping to grow the single malt to what it has become today. He has spent his working life dedicated to whisky and has shared his incredible wealth of knowledge with the world.

Ian is an active member of his local community in Dufftown, where he shares his passion by conducting regular nosing and tasting sessions for enthusiastic locals as part of his role as vice chairman of Dufftown 2000 and co-organiser of Dufftown Whisky Festivals. Ian is also a member of the Keepers of the Quaich.

Those who know Ian best have summed up why he is so deserving of this recognition: “Ian has spread his passion for whisky through his own endearing art of story-telling to so many people in so many cultures,” Enda O’ Sullivan, Glenfiddich global brand director.

Brian Kinsman, Glenfiddich malt master, says, “Ian’s strength is his passion for the industry as a whole – he is great fun and has a lovely way of engaging with consumers and trade alike.“

Ludo Ducrocq, head of ambassador advocacy at Grant’s says, “His reverence for whisky shines through and his real skill is connecting with all kinds of people.”

“There’s no distiller or whisky lover the world over who does not have a fond tale to tell of the legend that is Distiller Millar,” Sam Simmons, global brand ambassador for The Balvenie.