On Monday October 5th, Bar Business Editor Chris Ytuarte and Publisher Art Sutley had the pleasure of meeting Anthony Bourdain at Hudson Mercantile in New York City as the renowned chef, author, TV star, and overall food & drink enthusiast celebrated the official opening of The Balvenie 2015 Rare Craft Collection, for which Bourdain acted as curator.
Honoring those who keep craft traditions alive across various media beyond just beer and spirits, Bourdain has worked closely with The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whisky to select five such artisans who epitomize what true craftsmanship is all about. The five individuals comprising The Balvenie 2015 Rare Craft Collection, each of whom had their wares and their processes on display at Monday’s event, are:
• Megan O’ Connell, owner of Salt & Cedar, a letterpress printer
• Elizabeth Brim, a blacksmith with an eponymous company
• Roland Murphy, a watchmaker and owner of RGM Watch Company
• Sebastian Martorana, a sculptor also with an eponymous company
• Ian McDonald, head cooper at The Balvenie Cooperage
“The members of this diverse group all share one thing: an obsessive desire to make something amazing and a refusal to take the conventional path,” said Bourdain. “Their painstaking patience and determination have made the difference between creating something good and something that’s really, really great.”
Over the last six months, The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whisky and Bourdain embarked on a journey to celebrate some of America’s most talented craftspeople in Season One of the engaging online film series, Raw Craft.
The gathered crowd in Manhattan to honor that process (which included Martha Stewart) sipped samples of The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whisky — “Raise a dram to giving a damn about what we create,” being the theme — while engaging with each of the five honorees in their individual craft environment. Later in the evening, Bourdain sat for a Q&A session and spoke of his affection for not only The Balvenie, but for his time visiting the distillery in Scotland as well as the process of selecting the five artisans for the Rare Craft Collection.
“I have been very fortunate to meet many skilled artisans throughout my career and travels,” said Bourdain. “I’ve said it before, cream rises. Excellence does have its rewards. I truly believe that the pieces and craftspeople I’ve chosen to highlight in The Balvenie Rare Craft Collection are among the finest found today.”
