Meet our team | Highland Park

Meet our distillery team

At Highland Park, we know that great whisky is made by great people, whether they’re hand-turning floor maltings, working the mash house or overseeing our operations to make sure everything’s going smoothly. Below, we catch up with some of the key people in our team—all of whom are crucial to creating our whisky’s unique flavour and character.

Marc Watson - Master Whisky Maker

“My work is about ensuring that what ends up in the bottle isn’t just good whisky, but unmistakably Highland Park: balanced yet complex, that honey heather sweetness but with those hints of smoke and casks all while being shaped by Orkney’s unique environment.”

Marc is Master Whisky Maker at Highland Park which means means a lot of nosing, evaluating cask samples, tracking data, planning future releases, and working closely with the teams across production and warehousing.

What he loves most about Orkney?

“It keeps you humble, keeps you connected. There aren’t many places where ancient history, wild coastlines, whisky making and creativity are all wrapped up together. It’s impossible not to be inspired by it.”

Marie Gulliver - Distillery Manager

“My job is to make sure that everything we are required to do gets done, to keep pushing improvements and innovation, so that we can keep the gates open and my team can keep making our amazing malt and whisky.”

Marie is Distillery Manager at Highland Park, where she is responsible overall for the team and site production. One day she might be clearing snow to keep everyone safe and the next she’s meeting with councillors and planning budgets.

Her Highland Park happy place?

“Highland Park 18, fleecy blanket on the sofa, and the film Hudson Hawk!”

Scott Taylor - Warehouseman and relief cover in Process

“Doing the malt floors is starting the whisky on its journey and preparing and filling casks with new spirit is the last part of the puzzle.”

Scott Taylor is a Warehouseman at Highland Park, where his role includes loading and unloading casks, storing them safely in the warehouse and working on the maltings floor.

For a wildcard whisky pairing, he recommends “Irn Bru – a very rogue choice!”

Graham Garriock - Process Operator

“It all adds character to the spirit.”

Graham Garriock on his work as Process Operator at Highland Park, where he works in the mash house and the still house alongside our two wash, and two spirit stills.

HIs favourite Highland Park memory?

“All the laughs I’ve had with the boys I’ve worked with over the last 19 years.”

Alan Eunson - Kiln Man

“Getting the malt right adds the floral smokey flavour to the heart of the whisky itself.”

Alan Eunson is a Kiln Man at the Highland Park Distillery, where he hand-turns the floor maltings, loads the kilns and tends to the peat fires and air dryers we use to smoke and dry our malt.

The most unique thing about living in Orkney?

“The Orcadians themselves.”

Morgan Foubister - Process Operator

“A great memory for me was when I put my first mash through from start to finish.”

Morgan Foubister is the Process Operator at Highland Park, where he takes our malt through all the steps necessary for it to be made into our newmake spirit. On a day-to-day basis, he’s responsible for the production plant on any one of three shifts across 24 hours, either in the mash house or in the stillhouse.

Morgan likes to pair his whisky with “watching UFC on a Saturday night”—and why not?

Keith Moar - Warehouse Team Leader

Keith is Warehouse Team Leader at Highland Park, where he’s in charge of looking after our whisky stocks—ensuring all our new make spirit is safely matured in our Kirkwall warehouses, and then dispatching it for bottling when it’s required.

Keith’s worked with us in Orkney for 37 years. When he’s not looking after our whisky, he mixes a bit of gardening with a bit of karate.

“It’s a quiet, friendly place, with lovely scenery, nice walks and—on occasion—nice weather too.”

Lee Inkster - Senior Visitor Experience Host

“Last Summer I had a group of Americans on tour. One lady was a bourbon drinker, and at the end she said, ‘Lee, you’ve converted me to Scotch!’ I thought: my work here is done!”

Lee Inkster is Senior Visitor Experience Host at the Highland Park Distillery in Kirkwall, where she leads tours, guiding visitors through the whisky making process, from start to finish.

In her spare time, she’s a mum, keen beachcomber and Rod Stewart fan.