Professor David Thomson

After graduating from Strathclyde University, Glasgow, David began his career as a Cereal Chemist. Although his professional life ultimately took a very different direction (PhD Sensory & Consumer Science from the University of Bristol) he always retained a strong interest in cereal technology. For much of his subsequent career (as Founder & Chairman of MMR Research Worldwide), David has worked in market research, product innovation and branding, across the food, beverage, personal care, homecare and healthcare sectors. This included extensive involvement in various alcoholic beverage categories. As a consequence he had acquired a thorough understanding of the beginning and the end of Single Malt Scotch Whisky production, but he knew rather less about the rest of the process from mashing to maturation. Much of his process knowledge was subsequently acquired over the years via his layman’s interest in Single Malt, backed by scientific curiosity. On acquiring the derelict Annandale Distillery site, David teamed up with his long-standing acquaintance, Dr Jim Swan, to design and develop the plant and process for Annandale. He describes working with the ‘master’ as a very steep but endlessly enjoyable learning curve. His profound knowledge of the science and technology of Single Malt Scotch Whisky production is matched by his boundless enthusiasm for sharing it with others…accompanied by a dram of Annandale’s finest, of course!