{"id":37445,"date":"2017-07-17T11:57:52","date_gmt":"2017-07-17T17:57:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=37445"},"modified":"2018-04-06T21:40:48","modified_gmt":"2018-04-07T03:40:48","slug":"glenfiddich-ambassador-allan-roth-prepares-to-repour-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/glenfiddich-ambassador-allan-roth-prepares-to-repour-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Glenfiddich ambassador Allan Roth repours here"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By ALAN SMASON, <em>Exclusive to the CCJN<\/em><\/p>\n<p>When Tales of the Cocktail opened its 15<sup>th<\/sup> annual conference earlier in the week, it beckoned for a number of closely-connected Jewish members of the spirits industry to arrive in the Crescent City. One of those is Allan Roth, who holds the current position of the Glenfiddich Brand Ambassador.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37446\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/FullSizeRender-7.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37446\" class=\"wp-image-37446 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/FullSizeRender-7-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"FullSizeRender 7\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/FullSizeRender-7-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/FullSizeRender-7-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/225;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37446\" class=\"wp-image-37446 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/FullSizeRender-7-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"FullSizeRender 7\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/FullSizeRender-7-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/FullSizeRender-7-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-37446\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Glenfiddich brand ambasssador Allan Roth pours a 14-year -old Bourbon barrel special reserve. (Photo courtesy William T. Grant and Sons)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Having been named one of a handful of label ambassadors, Roth represents that specific brand of single malt Speyside Scotch whisky as part of the massive portfolio of spirits offered through the William Grant and Sons labels.<\/p>\n<p>While last year was his first time as a participant with Tales of the Cocktail \u2013 the annual series of seminars, tastings, spirited dinners and competitive events revolving around the spirits industry \u2013 that was not the first time Roth had been to New Orleans.<\/p>\n<p>It turns out a well-known and respected member of the local Jewish community \u2013 jeweler and Judaica boutique owner Dashka Roth \u2013 is his aunt. Over the course of several years Roth has visited New Orleans to see her and her husband, attorney and estate planner Larry Lehmann.<\/p>\n<p>His father and his aunt were raised in a kosher home. \u201cI attended Conservative synagogue when I was a child, but my home was a bit more flexible, I would say,\u201d the younger Roth recounted.<\/p>\n<p>It was after graduation from Yale University that he first made his way to Louisiana without his parents. Roth enrolled in the Teach for America program and was a teacher at a rural school in Maringouin, some 35 minutes out of Baton Rouge. \u201cI taught there for two years, from \u201902 to \u201904,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n<p>This prepared him for his graduate school work at Columbia University in New York City, where he was employed for a time in the non-profit sector. But, it was then that his interests took him on a path he was not expecting.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37451\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/PICT00512.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37451\" class=\"wp-image-37451 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/PICT00512-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"PICT0051[2]\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/PICT00512-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/PICT00512-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/225;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37451\" class=\"wp-image-37451 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/PICT00512-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"PICT0051[2]\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/PICT00512-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/PICT00512-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-37451\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Allan Roth in 2007 with aunt Dashka Roth, left, and her husband Larry Lehmann. (Photo courtesy Larry Lehmann)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>While he was in graduate school, he developed a really strong interest in food and cooking. He surveyed where his food came from and this led him to also study wine and spirits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI actually spent more time learning about food and whisky than I did actually did about Political Science,\u201d he admitted. \u201cThat was the beginning of that transition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Taking on a side job as a server at a fabled Bourbon and American spirits pub in Brooklyn known as Char No. 4, his past experience as a teacher opened a door for him unexpectedly. Just before his hiring, the staff member with the deepest teaching experience had left the pub. With his ongoing study of food, wine and spirits, he was a natural to fill in the void by offering courses, tastings and seminars to the other servers and bar staff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you really love the category as much as I really love whisky, it\u2019s hard to enjoy just one without learning and enjoying all about all the others,\u201d he continued. \u201cIronically my affair with single malt Scotch whisky began at an American whiskey bar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In discussing what the future might portend for him, a friend of his from the wine industry early on confided that the way his career trajectory was headed clearly indicated that a brand ambassador job might be his next step.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time in his life, Roth followed his passions first, plunging deeper into the study of spirits without a specific program to guide him. It consumed him. \u201cI loved teaching, but I didn\u2019t love the day-to-day. I loved grad school, but I didn\u2019t love the day-to-day. But working in the restaurant, I loved the day-to-day as well as the thing itself,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n<p>His weekly classes became a daily passion. \u201cInitially it was just one or two classes that I was very knowledgeable about and over the next year and a half, I put myself through what I call \u2018whisky grad school,\u201d Roth added.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37448\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_3121.JPG.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37448\" class=\"wp-image-37448 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_3121.JPG-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_3121.JPG\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_3121.JPG-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_3121.JPG-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/200;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37448\" class=\"wp-image-37448 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_3121.JPG-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_3121.JPG\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_3121.JPG-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_3121.JPG-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-37448\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">As a brand ambassador, Roth oversees numerous tastings of Glenfiddich varieties. (Photo courtesy William T. Grant and Sons)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Within a relatively short period of time, he became the beverage manager there. His classes became an important extension of his job and his engaging teaching skills got him notice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll I was doing was associating with people who were similarly passionate about whisky,\u201d Roth said. One of the associations he made was with Jonathan Wingo, whom he first met at an establishment called The Whiskey Shop in Brooklyn. Wingo went on to become W. T. Grant &amp; Sons\u2019 Balvenie Ambassador for Central and Southern U.S.A.<\/p>\n<p>He kept Roth&#8217;s star status in mind and encouraged him to interview for the position of Glenfiddich Brand Ambassador, especially after Char No. 4. closed in the summer of 2015. William Grant and Sons is a family-owned company and Wingo explained to Roth what it meant to be involved with their hands-on approach to ownership.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He really brought me into the family,&#8221; Roth commented.<\/p>\n<p>Ambassadors have the responsibility of promoting and marketing their brands in a variety of ways. Roth&#8217;s strong skill set of teaching has been manifested in his teaching courses on spirits at the Astor Center in New York since 2014. But it is his numerous industry contacts and his outreach to managers, buyers and owners that makes him particularly influential.<\/p>\n<p>William Grant and Sons maintains a sharp division between marketing and sales and ambassadors occupy space in the marketing world, he noted. &#8220;It&#8217;s quite a special thing. We&#8217;re really there to establish a relationship and really help them see why we love the brands we represent so much and hopefully encourage them to do the same,&#8221; he mused. &#8220;We just get to share the love of the brand.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The company is concerned with sales, but ambassadors are rated on how strongly they engage with industry personnel. &#8220;We get to explore building that relationship in different ways,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Honestly, every bar is unique. Every restaurant is unique, but the relationships that we establish now may lead to something later.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37447\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_3665.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37447\" class=\"wp-image-37447 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_3665-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_3665\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_3665-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_3665-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/200;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37447\" class=\"wp-image-37447 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_3665-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_3665\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_3665-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/IMG_3665-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-37447\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Allan Roth at a Glenfiddich tasting. (Photo courtesy William Grant and Sons)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>On most days he holds classes and tastings, Roth covers the various different Glenfiddich products. These include the entry level 12-year old and 14-year-old Bourbon barrel aged varieties. But there are also the 15-year-old Solera Reserve and the special 21-year rum cask finished varieties too. These are the main Glenfiddich products he speaks about and entreats others to sample.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Occasionally, when we&#8217;re all lucky, we get to do the 26-year (-old). It&#8217;s true,&#8221; Roth said, almost choking up as to how rare that experience is.<\/p>\n<p>There are other varieties that involve taking out product from the Solera vat and finishing in a variety of ways including placing into sherry casks.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The content is always fun. The whisky is always delicious,&#8221; he went on. &#8220;The important thing for me is one for me to give people an opportunity to taste the whisky in a pretty judgment-free environment. Over time the single malt Scotch whisky world has sorta gotten caught up in following certain procedures and the correct ways to enjoy the spirit.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>To that end Roth says there is no right or wrong way to taste Scotch whisky and enjoy it in whatever fashion they might desire. &#8220;If you want to add water to your single malt, that&#8217;s great &#8211; it helps open it up. I&#8217;m not going to sit there and suggest that if they added more than a drop, they&#8217;ve somehow ruined it. First of all, it&#8217;s not true,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_37514\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/AllanRoth_AlanS.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37514\" class=\"wp-image-37514 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/AllanRoth_AlanS-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"AllanRoth_AlanS\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/AllanRoth_AlanS-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/AllanRoth_AlanS-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/225;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37514\" class=\"wp-image-37514 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/AllanRoth_AlanS-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"AllanRoth_AlanS\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/AllanRoth_AlanS-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/AllanRoth_AlanS-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-37514\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Allan Roth and CCJN editor Alan Smason at the William Grant and Sons party. (Photo by Alan Smason)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Roth also leads the U.S. ambassador team in coming up with innovative and new cocktails using Glenfiddich products.&nbsp; &#8220;&#8216;The whole point is to encourage people to fall in love with the spirit the way I have,&#8221; he concluded.<\/p>\n<p>Roth was on hand for the massive party given at Crescent Park, located at 400 N. Peters, on Wednesday night, July 19, by William Grant and Sons. Representing Glenfiddich afforded him the opportunity to mix with other ambassadors from the William Grant and Sons family of labels and to greet a plethora of bartenders, bar owners and spirits industry distributors.<\/p>\n<p>With the title &#8220;Love Supreme,&#8221; the party was one of the most coveted of invitations for the week with thousands crowding onto the area near a bend overlooking the Mississippi River. Musical acts and deejays kept the night filled with music, while spirits flowed for hours with an unusual array of cocktails prepared just for the party.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Glenfiddich%20ambassador%20Allan%20Roth%20repours%20here\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":37446,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[8666,803,8667,8790,8795,8788],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37445"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37445"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42132,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37445\/revisions\/42132"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}