The third season of Raw Craft kicked off on Oct. 30 in New York with a screening of the first episode, complete with a Balvenie Scotch tasting and Q&A with the web series star Anthony Bourdain. The episode featured pastry connoisseur Dominique Ansel—inventor of the doughnut/croissant hybrid Cronut, which became a cult favorite in New York.
Bourdain, the author, former chef and current star of CNN’s Parts Unknown, teamed up with The Balvenie in 2015 for Raw Craft. The series provides an inspiring behind the scenes look inside the workshops of some of the most talented, creative and hardworking craftspeople in America.
The Balvenie’s East Coast brand ambassador Gemma Paterson led the guided tasting of the single malt whisky range. After the Raw Craft episode aired, Bourdain came out for a pop and answered a few questions.
What type of Scotch does he prefer? Not the real smoky or peaty whiskies, he says, but those with richer, rounder flavor.
What has Bourdain learned from interviewing so many craft masters with the Raw Craft? He notices details and evidence of good craftsmanship, Bourdain said. “I look at people’s shoes.”
The strangest place ever he spent a Halloween? A Dracula-themed hotel in Transylvania, Bourdain said. “It was like something out of The Simpsons.”
