Blenders are the high priests of the whisky world. They take the fiery flame of raw distillate and, via secret ministrations, render it deliciously intelligible to the common drinker. They are the guardians of magic formulae; they know the secrets of stills, warehouses and casks. Thirty years ago, they had a quasi-monastic existence, cloistered in warehouse and nosing-room silence; now they are roving ambassadors and travelling showmen. Few wear the priestly robes with more panache than Richard Paterson of Whyte & Mackay.

Indeed, having read his recently published memoir (written jointly with the whisky journalist Gavin D Smith), it's hard not to see him as a candidate for canonisation. Surely no blender has built his triumphs on a more unpromising career trajectory. He joined Whyte & Mackay in September 1970 as assistant blender, becoming chief blender five years later.