After 14 years in Australia, new Balvenie brand ambassador James Buntin is back in the UK, on a mission to spread the word about this highly regarded distillery and its whiskies. We met up with this impressively hirsute Scot to share a dram and a story or two – and he didn’t disappoint.

‘I’m 46, and I’ve been drinking whisky for 46 years – my mum used to take a drop of whisky and rub it on my gums’

‘There’s nothing better than a nip and a half [a dram and half a pint of beer]’

‘I walk into a bar and see all the bottles on the backbar; when I look at all the different labels, I don’t see them as brands, but as stories’

‘I’ve worked for a lot of brands in my life, but working for Balvenie is the highlight. Everything is hand-crafted’