Legend has it that when the great flood of Noah happened that many years ago, his was not the only boat that was built.

On the other side of the world, on the Scottish Highlands, another boat had been built by the MacLean clan and who apparently survived the deluge.

Their family crest and tartan feature a boat, a memory of just how far they have come.

To date, the MacLeans are still a famous clan and Hamish Torrie a descendant of the clan is a seasoned whisky evangelist, enthusiast and drinker.

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Yours is a household name. But who is the person behind it?

I'm a Scotsman, born and brought up in Scotland and England a little bit, attended university in Scotland, and I've been working in whisky or I'll call it beverages for over 30 years.

That's from 1982?

Yes. I grew up in the region of Scotland that makes single malt whisky, and from an early age I was exposed to the smells of whisky. As early as the age of six, going to school meant walking through a village which had two distilleries, and I smelt whisky, so it's been with me all my life.

That's the Speyside?

Yes, Speyside. It is a big whisky producing region. There are different regions of whisky. The highland region has the subset called Speyside, and the Spey is a river, big and famous for salmon fishing but also supplies all the water for the distilleries since the 19th century.

So, how would you describe Scotland to a person who's never been there and probably won’t?

It is the most welcoming place on earth. It's a land of mist, legend and great charm, with beautiful landscapes. The food is of high quality and the country is unpolluted so the air is clean and fresh.

It is a country of contrasts too. You’ve got the beautiful highlands and then you’ve got the sea that is never really far from you. Then there are these big lakes. Not as big as your Lake Victoria, but still quite big.

What was your childhood like, growing up in such a place?

It was great. I grew up in the countryside so I played in the fields with my bicycle and my friends. We were out all the time, and of course back in those days there weren't too many cars, so it wasn't dangerous on the roads. You could do anything. I was very lucky growing up in the countryside.

When was the first time you started drinking, and how did you get to do it?

I think most people in Scotland get introduced to whisky by either their father or an uncle at age 16 or 17, privately at home. The legal age for going to the club or drinking is 18 but people get a little taste with water just to try in their early youth.

It's very much a case of understanding that whisky is part of Scotland's culture and national identity, so as a Scotsman you will always be introduced to whisky at some point, whether you choose to continue drinking as you grow older is up to you.

So, who introduced you to whisky?

I think it was my father actually, and because we grew up in the region of Speyside, we always drank really good single malt whisky from the local distillery.

Back then, single malt was seen as very small commercially, it was something very special and not readily available, because most whisky was used for blending and single malts were not bottled in any large quantity, so to get a bottle of single malt was something quite special.

Do you remember the experience?

Yes. It was a summer's evening, and my father said, “Right, just try a little bit of this. Small glass, little sip,” and that was it.

It was quite strong the first time, but I think it wasn't until I was probably in my early 20s that I really started appreciating single malts, and of course as I have said in my biography I started working for Macallan Whisky in 1982 at the age of 24, so I was still quite young. My first job after university was whisky.

Is that what you studied in university?

No, I actually studied history.

Well the history of whisky is quite rich.

Very rich. It goes back to the 6th or 7th century with the monks coming from Ireland bringing the art of distillation.

The Scots took on whisky making, the whole process took hundreds of years of experience, but the actual Scotch whisky industry is a product of the 19th century industrial revolution, so the farmers who had been making whisky for hundreds of years gradually organised themselves, the government licensed them and technology took over.

Technology in the 19th century had a good effect as well because it was a different sort of technology.

Apparently according to Scots, if a whisky was not matured in Scotland for at least three years, it's not a Scotch whisky. Is that true?

Exactly.

Why is that important?

To protect the reputation of the drink. The Scotch Whisky Association which is the governing body, has protected the word Scotch in law in many jurisdictions around the world, so people cannot pass off local spirits as being Scotch whisky. This is done to protect the reputation of the industry, and it's a very strict definition.

What makes Glenmorangie special among the whiskies produced in Scotland?

There are 128 distilleries in Scotland. But the stills for Glenmorangie are the tallest. A giraffe is a metaphor for the height of the stills at Glenmorangie, and the height of our stills are the height of a fully grown giraffe.

By comparison, other distilleries have short stills, and the difference is that the Glenmorangie stills create a delicate fragrant spirit. Shorter stills have a heavier, oilier spirit. There's no difference in quality, they're just different. That's why Glenmorangie, is very smooth, full and orangey. Literally it has a peachy orangey taste.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Glenmorangie?

I think of our still house, which is like a cathedral. This big cathedral with gleaming copper stills. We call it the Highland Cathedral. There is a very famous bagpipe tune called The Highland Cathedral, which is very emotional. And that is what comes to mind when I think of Glenmorangie. The Highland Cathedral -- it is like going to a whisky church.

What is the profile of a Glenmorangie drinker?

Someone between his late 20s and 40s or older. Most people start to appreciate whisky in their late 20s and early 30s when their taste for whisky develops. I started drinking whisky very early at 16, but started really enjoying whisky in my mid-20s.

What kind of person in character, I mean?

One who appreciates the good things in life and open to new experiences. So you can drink whisky, but also appreciate a good wine and good food.

Do you have a favourite of the Glenmorangie brands?

I always tell people, if I was sitting under a palm tree on a desert island, waiting for a ship to come rescue me, and I had a choice of one whisky, it would be the Glenmorangie Original (10 years).

You start enjoying it at 10am and sip it all day. It is flavoursome. A famous whisky writer, Jim Murrey, scores it at 93/100 and calls it “complexity at its most complex.”

What brings you to Kenya?

My job as a brand ambassador. I go around the world talking about whisky and basically introducing people to the taste of our whiskies, to promote them to people who maybe have never tasted them. It's part of our business to promote our product to the world.

We currently export Glenmorangie to about 130 countries, and Africa is becoming an increasingly important part of our future.

When you think about the future in whisky, given the fact that our product is minimum of 10 years old, so we're looking to predict the market in the future, and we find that in Africa there is an incredible upswing in interest in drinking good single malt whisky.

What do you prefer, talking about Scotland or whisky?

Both. It could be you going round the world talking about your life here in Kenya, and you would talk about it with pride, passion, and with a sense of evangelism, you know?

Is your vast experience the only thing that qualifies you to be a brand ambassador?

There is also the fact that I can talk about whisky in a way that people can understand. Whisky making is a very complex process if you get into the chemistry. But that is not me. I am a historian. I tell stories. I tell stories about the whisky. And convey the sensory enjoyment of Glenmorangie.

When you are not talking about whisky and Scotland, what do you do?

I golf, walk, fish, and read a lot of history. I also love gardening, so I will be outside digging holes and planting things.

Do you still live in the Speyside?

No, I am now on the Eastside. Towards St Andrews, the home of golf. That is why I play golf. Great game, good exercise. But also very frustrating. Try hitting a ball straight sometime.

Are you any good at it?

No. I have flashes of brilliance and many days of disaster.

What are you looking forward to in Nairobi?

Meeting new people and seeing their reaction every time we try the Glenmorangie. It is interesting when you get people to try and describe the whisky in their own words and what it feels to them. It is a very personal thing.

Mixology is now a big thing in the consumption of whisky. Would you recommend someone mixing a Glenmorangie?

Personally, I think the only thing that should go into a glass of Glenmorangie is water. Anything else will make it lose its character, especially the Glenmorangie Original. It is too delicate to be adulterated with anything else.