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John Black: 1942-2013
September 18, 2013 – Longtime Scottish distillery manager John Black died today following a lengthy illness at the age of 72.
He worked at 12 different distilleries during his 55 years in the industry, and spent his final years managing Tullibardine. In a post on the distillery’s Facebook page, his colleagues paid tribute to him:
John was as passionate about people as he was about distilling whisky and always had time for anyone who visited or called in for a chat. For those of us fortunate enough to have undertaken a tour of the distillery, or to have been guided through the history and process under his passionate tutelage we are eternally grateful. He had a story for every occasion & the saddest thing is that we probably never made the most of our time with him.
During his career, John worked at Cardhu, Glenburgie, Miltonduff, Ardbeg, Glencadam, Balblair, Pultney, Auchentoshan, Tormore, Ardmore, Scapa and Tullibardine distilleries. He took a leave of absence for health reasons at the end of 2012, and at the time, Tullibardine’s James Robertson told us “his glass isn’t half full, it’s overflowing.” In March of 2006, John talked with us about his work at Tullibardine and other distilleries in Episode 29 of WhiskyCast.
Our condolences go out to John’s family, friends, and colleagues.
Links: Tullibardine
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