unofficial title is The Nose. A third-generation whiskey man, his father, a whiskey distributor, gave him his first sip at age 8. Paterson tuned pro in the early 1970s. Now in his 60s, his skill at tasting, assessing and blending whiskeys has become so acute, his nose has been insured by Lloyd’s of London for $2.6 million.

Employed by Whyte and Mackay of Glasgow, Scotland, his day job takes him around the world. Paterson creates special blends for Korean and Japanese markets, and travels from the oak forests of Missouri to the González Byass bodegas in Andalusia in search of wood for whiskey casks.

He spends the rest of his time spreading the whiskey gospel. “Out there in the big bad world, people basically haven’t a bloody clue about whiskey,” he says.

Still, Paterson says more people are educating themselves about the sacred spirit.

“The passion I have for whiskey is far greater today than when I started,” he says, “because people are finally taking the time to learn about it.”

Scotch whisky carries with it a whiff of cultural elitism. It’s often dismissed as something that’s only fully understood and appreciated by rich, older white men in aristocratic parlors and expensive, stuffy restaurants. But the spirit has a long history as a populist potable, a drink the masses have turned to for centuries — the ancient distillers referred to it as the “water of life.”

Paterson, who will continue his spirited ambassadorship at upcoming events including the Ultimate Cocktail, Spirits & Wine Blast on Oct. 15 in New York City and two WhiskyFest gatherings (Oct. 8 in San Francisco, Nov. 9 in New York), has become adept at demystifying the drink.

A born entertainer and a total eccentric, he is a celebrity among whiskey lovers on the web. He keeps a Master Blender blog, hosts whiskey podcasts, does live tastings on UStream, records tasting notes on YouTube and answers questions about scotch on Twitter.

Paterson delivers amped-up monologues in a rapid-fire Scottish brogue and peppers them with countless facts, dates and anecdotes. In the hour he spent with Wired.com, he quoted Shakespeare, Hemingway and Jackson Pollack.

He carries props to illustrate scotch’s history — maps, a miniature still, a plastic model of the Phylloxera vastatrix beetle (the pest that decimated the French wine industry in the mid-1800s and turned Europe’s taste to whiskey).

Paterson also regularly hosts tastings for whiskey bloggers and the web’s food writers. We tasted a half-dozen whiskeys with him, from a 12-year Dalmore blend to a 20-year Dalmore King Alexander III, all exceptional. Paterson talked constantly during the tasting session, describing each sip with words like “sensual” and “sexy.”

A rare 1951 Dalmore he brought lands on the lips “like a kiss,” according to Paterson.

It’s one hell of an expensive smooch — the stuff costs more than $18,000 a bottle (and yes, it is amazing).

Whiskey is enjoying a renaissance within cocktail culture, as mixologists concoct fancy new drinks based on bourbon, scotch and rye. Brown-liquor purists scoff at the trend, but how does the master blender feel about the rise of the whiskey cocktail?

“They’re fine,” he says, “but the other ingredients mustn’t dominate the whiskey.”

Paterson often hears the tired argument that whiskey doesn’t make a good cocktail because its strong flavor makes it less versatile than vodka, gin or rum.

“That’s total rubbish,” he says. “I’ve hosted talented mixologists who visit our distilleries from Paris and London and all over the world. They are creating some stunning, beautiful things with our whiskeys. The flavors can be balanced to create one lovely fusion, like a marriage.”

But there is a line, he admits: One shouldn’t experiment with the expensive stuff.

“To spend $20,000 on a bottle and make a whiskey cocktail with it, that would be a sacrilege,” he says.

See Also:

• Bid Austin Good Knight With a Bit of Bourbon
• Scotch Maverick Reinvents a Once-Conservative Drink
• The Mystery of the Green Menace
• Sinfully Good Cocktails at Peche
• Crafty Cocktails at East Side Show Room

Authors: Michael Calore

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