Jonny Shields - The Macallan Interview
Jonny Shields is a regular down in our Shoreditch liquor store, representing a number of brands. He's recently come off the back of a month-long takeover of our shop front with The Macallan, so we decided to steal him for a quick 10-minute chat own in our vaults. Read on for insights into his career in the drinks industry and his top picks from our shelves.
So, tell us, what was the idea behind the shopfront display?
The main idea with the shopfront was to do something bigger, something that catches the eye a little bit. The whole triangle design was related to the Macallan trilogy that has just come back with three different 12 year olds, and the distinctions between them are reflected in the different textures of wood and things like that. So it kind of fit the idea in that there;s this big wooden display in the window, the triangles fit into the whole trilogy theme, and I think it came out pretty well to be fair!
We’re in total agreement there – it looks great. So tell us a bit about your story, how did you get into the drinks industry?
Well I got into the drinks industry the same way most of us get into the drinks industry: through kind of just falling into it, working in bars, and falling in love with booze, drinks and all things fun and drinks-related. So I started off just working in a few bars. After that I ended up going to Australia to fulfil my dream of playing rugby, but that kind of fell on its face. So I ended up working in a whisky bar, and I really enjoyed working with whisky and getting to know all the different brands and stuff like that. When I eventually came back to England I wanted to stay in the industry, but working Monday to Friday instead so I could still enjoy my weekend by going to bars and not having to work!
“The whole triangle design was related to the Macallan trilogy that has just come back with three different 12 year olds, and the distinctions between them are reflected in the different textures of wood and things like that.”
So you say you worked in a whisky bar in Australia, what was that called?
It was called the Whisky Room. It was like this bar in the back of a pub. We had 130-something whiskies and it was pretty cool. It was a good standard for Sydney too, where there wasn’t much in the way of whisky. I loved it – in fact, I would’ve stayed had my visa not run out!
What was it about TT Liquor that drew you here?
It was definitely the aesthetic and versatility of the space. You guys have so many different options for events we can put together – the Cellar Bar down here and the tasting vaults look amazing.
Would you be up for doing a Macallan tasting down here in the vaults?
Yes, 100%! That’s what we’re definitely up for as a brand and whisky company in general.
Obviously you’re here with The Macallan, but if I had to press you to pick out your top three bottles from our shop, what would they be? No Macallan or Maxxium – they have to be outside the portfolio!
[laughs] Okay well I’ll start with gin and I’ll say Four Pillars from Melbourne. Obviously I worked in Australia before a developed a big relationship with Four Pillars down there while working in bars, since it’s distilled in the Yarra Valley just outside Melbourne. Also, a guy we worked with did the artwork for the bottles and stuff – I really love that and it tastes amazing, so definitely Four Pillars. I also really like the Balvenie 14-year Caribbean cask, which I probably shouldn’t say! But I love it to be sure – it’s a nice dram. And lastly, rum-wise, for me El Dorado’s 12-year old is the dream sipper. I prefer it to the older stuff definitely as well.
“Hopefully we’ll get a financial takeover sorted sooner rather than later so we can finally buy some players and win something. I’m a dreamer, what can I say?”
Lovely stuff. And finally, we heard through the grapevine that you were a Newcastle United fan – which puts you in Steve’s company. Any mid-season thoughts on how it’s going so far? Can you still bear to watch?
YES, regularly. Regularly going to away games – sometimes even with Steve, in fact! I think the most recent one was Southampton away. Obviously living in London makes things a bit more difficult – I had a season ticket last year but travelling 8 hours to watch home games every couple of weeks gets a bit silly. I’m still getting to plenty of away games though, and hopefully we’ll get a (financial) takeover sorted sooner rather than later so we can finally buy some players and win something. I’m a dreamer, what can I say?
