Introducting… Dave Worthington

You know Dave Worthington, AKA Boutique-y Dave, if you’re a fan of That Boutique-y Whisky Company. But our mate Dave is about to feature on this blog a whole lot more in the future. So we felt some proper introductions were in order…

Once in a lifetime, whisky flowing through me..

Hello, my name is Dave Worthington.

A music-loving whisky geek, bread maker, hat wearer, hunter of wild orchids, and an olive maniac…

My official title is brand ambassador, and my main role has been championing our independent bottler line, That Boutique-y Whisky. You may know me on social media as @BoutiqueyDave. 

And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?”

Short answer: Being there at the right time and in the right place, as well as showing a great deal of passion!

And now the long answer: I’m an engineer by trade, starting off with British Shipbuilders as an engineering apprentice, long before health and safety took over. Most of my working life has been in engineering, and the majority of that time in the marine industry, from ship and yacht building to marine equipment and yacht steering. I’ve travelled the world, spending seven years in the Far East building yachts, as well as visiting just about every major yacht builder and designer in the Northern hemisphere in my roles.

Whisky started as just a hobby. I fell in love with whisky when I was introduced to it by my sales manager when I was an engineer. I’d never really drunk whisky before, and certainly had never thought about any beer or spirit in any depth. I had my ‘eureka’ moment on the second introduction. My sales manager and friend, Phillip, is a keen whisky enthusiast, and would always bring in one of his special bottles around Christmas time. I remember them both; the first year it was an independently bottled Clynelish (I think I pronounced it Cly-nell-ish at the time). It was lovely, but I forgot about it quickly afterwards, and went back to my Guinness, and red wines (not in the same glass, obvs).

The following Christmas, Phillip brought in an independently bottled Caol Ila, a 15-year-old single cask from 1991, and one of just 378 bottles, bottled at 46% ABV. It was MAGNIFICENT! I needed to know more. Phillip kindly gave me the heel (the last bit of the bottle) to take home with me. I still carry a photo of that bottle, just in case I see one come up at auction somewhere!

How one whisky can change a life

That Caol Ila was the bottle that changed my life. I wanted to know more about whisky, and started reading everything I could get my hands on that Christmas. I wanted to understand the differences, and bought my first five bottles of whisky. Over the following year, I resolved to buy a different bottle of whisky every month. I started writing about each of them on Facebook, purely for friends and family. 

I started the Whisky Discovery blog around Christmas 2011, a year after I started taking whisky seriously. I also discovered Twitter that Christmas, and have been a nuisance ever since, although I’ve fallen out of love with that platform recently. My first tweet posted on Boxing Day read “One year into my ‘Voyage of Discovery’, 27 different whiskies tasted and 21 on my shelf,” with a link to the fledgling blog.

The ‘collection’ continued to grow, as did the blog. My daughter joined me, and we started a little whisky club in Bedford. We started travelling to whisky shows up and down the country, getting to know the brands, and the people, and broadening our whisky experience, and in the 2014 edition of Malt Whisky Yearbook, by Ingvar Ronde, our little blog was recommended as one of the four ‘new websites to watch’.

Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life…

Working within the industry came later, initially as a part-time fun weekend helping a brand out at various shows. My first proper ‘gig’ at a whisky show came at Whisky Live London, working alongside Chip Tate of Balcones. The full-time position with Boutique-y Whisky came much later, and it’s a job I absolutely adore. It definitely wasn’t something I’d even thought about when starting my whisky journey, and there was no plan to be working in this industry.

However, I’m still just as passionate about whisky and love making new discoveries. Working with an independent bottler that bottles whisky from all around the world makes new discoveries easy. I seriously pinch myself every morning, just to check it’s not a dream, and I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity.

What’s my favourite whisky? 

Usually the next one…

Much love, 

Dave

Dave In Five

Five questions with Boutique-y Dave, because one dram’s never enough.

What’s one whisky you’d wrestle a bear for?
Wrestling is not my forte, and wrestling bears is really not a great idea for me, or indeed anyone! I love whisky, but would I wrestle anything for one particular dram? Probably not, there’s plenty more whisky to go around!
What’s a music album that pairs perfectly with a good dram?
Ah, music and whisky… I don’t watch TV, and music is my preferred choice for relaxation. There are so many great albums, and so many wonderful whiskies, and far too little time! I bought my first album in 1974. The seventies were a great decade for music, but my music collection spans many decades and plenty of genres!
Something from the 70s – Genesis; Seconds Out, 1977. It’s a live double album, so plenty of time to chill, an album that always lifts my soul.
Two from the 80s – Talking Heads; Stop Making Sense, 1984. It’s another live album that was filmed – such a great concert, and I love Talking Heads! Also, and very relevant right now; Dire Straits; Brothers in Arms, 1985. It’s considered a commentary about the senselessness of war.
Something from the 90s – Guru; Jazzmatazz Vol.1 1993. Jazz funk meets hip hop. It’s such a great album to sit back and chill with a large tumbler.
I could keep going, but I’ll stop here…
Most unexpected place you’ve enjoyed a whisky?
I expect to enjoy whisky everywhere, so is that even a relevant question? However, I remember a particular dinner with clients, and we were looking to impress with our portfolio of drinks. Some of the stock hadn’t been delivered, but the whisky I’d selected was all in place. A friend, colleague, and very talented flavoursmith who was in charge of the cocktails, without their spirit choice being available made the cocktail out of one of the whiskies I’d selected; a 24 year old Arran that we’d bottled, which in my opinion was the finest cask I had come across in its short history (founded in 1995). I could tell immediately that the Arran was the base for that cocktail, and said to my pal, ‘Oh no, you haven’t, have you?’ while they grinned back at me. The cocktail was exceptional, seriously enjoyable, and most unexpected! Of course I forgave them! The quality of the spirit shone through their cocktail.
You can bottle one smell forever – what is it?
Is there anything better than the aromas of freshly brewed coffee, and/or freshly baked bread?
I make a brew of coffee every morning. The world has stopped if there is no coffee in the morning here. I travel with a cafetiere mug, and start to panic if there is less than 4kg of coffee in the house. In a whisky though, I love the aroma of that toasted coconut flavour you find, especially in some of the old grains. Yeah, bottle that please!
What advice would you give someone starting their own whisky discovery?
Don’t expect to like every whisky you try, but keep trying, but revisit those whiskies from time to time. Our palates change over time. When I first started getting into whisky, and buying a different bottle every month (OK, I may have exceeded my target at the beginning) I wished that I could find dram sets to allow me to expand my palate quickly without breaking the bank. My local wine and spirits shop had a limited selection of miniatures, and I wondered whether it would be possible to build myself a whisky advent calendar via miniatures. That’s when I discovered ‘Drinks by the Dram’. The dirty rats had beaten me to it! That’s the absolute truth there. It’s kind of funny that I now work for the company that brought DBTD to us all.

Find a whisky club and join in, so many whisky people love to share their new finds and tell some stories. Get along to a whisky show, there are so many of them nowadays right across the country, and indeed the world. If you’re not able to get to one easily, then there are several online tasting groups; from the free to join Tweet Tastings, to the subscription services like Pour and Sip. All an excellent way to explore whisky and meet other people. Lastly, never let the FOMO take over your life! It’s easy to do, but the bottom line is it’s only whisky and there will be more releases anytime soon!

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