There are two things about Martin Markvardsen that give away his devotion to whisky and in particular, his love of Highland Park. The first is the tattoo over his heart; Martin is so passionate about the brand that he had the Highland Park amulet and the motto of Orkney permanently inked on his body. The second giveaway is that Martin won’t drink anything made from grapes!

Based in Copenhagen, Martin has been working in the whisky industry for 33 years, with 17 years working with Highland Park.

Over the years, his work has seen him involved in every step of whisky production - from overseeing the peat burning to storing casks in our warehouses. He has visited every single distillery in Scotland and worked in several as well.  In addition, during his career, Martin held the enviable title of Whisky Manager at the world-famous Craigellachie Hotel’s Quaich Bar, in Speyside, home to more than 780 different single malts.

As Senior Brand Ambassador, Martin’s role involves a lot of travelling, as he leads training, education and tasting sessions for bars, restaurants, whisky fairs and clubs. Everyone from beginners to connoisseurs seeks out Martin’s knowledge of whisky and his many years of know-how have seen him contribute to numerous articles and books on the subject of single malts. In 2009, Martin was given a great honour when he was asked to be a “Keeper of the Quaich”; in 2021 Martin was awarded the title of “Master of the Quaich”, and he is also a two-time winner of Whisky Magazine's Icons of Whisky title which he is very proud of too.

When he’s not spreading the word about Highland Park around the world, he enjoys weightlifting in his spare time. He has represented Denmark in 22 boxing matches for the national team and was the Danish boxing champion twice. He is someone not to be messed with!

Martin’s favourite whisky - if forced to choose one - is the 25-year-old Highland Park but has a special soft spot for the 1977 Bicentenary bottling.