Bourbon’s Unsung Heroes – Susan Reigler

I have known Susan Reigler for over thirty years. I first met Susan when she was the restaurant critic and whiskey writer for the Courier-Journal. I was working for United Distillers as their North American Archivist at that time. Susan wrote an article for the paper that changed Louisville’s whiskey bar scene forever. She wrote about America’s best Bourbon bar and it was not a bar in Kentucky – it was Delilah’s in Chicago. That upset many readers of the paper because the best bourbon bar should be in Louisville, or at least in Kentucky. Soon after the article was published, there started a growth of Bourbon themed bars in Louisville and elsewhere in the State.

Susan has gone on to write several books and co-wrote several others. She worked with the late Joy Perrine to write the Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book and with Peggy Noe Stevens on Which Fork Do I Use With My Bourbon. Reigler wrote one of the first “Guides” to Bourbon Country and a guide to Kentucky State Parks. Finally, she co-wrote with me, The Bourbon Tasting Notebook and The American Whiskey Tasting Notebook. Susan always has a writing project that she is working on, if not a new book, then an article for one of the many whiskey magazines she freelances for. Her writing is very well respected in the whiskey industry.

Besides her writing skills, Susan is very much involved in the local music scene, playing in a brass band organizing many musical events. She is also very dedicated to working with Bourbon Women, both the local chapter and chapters in other cities. When Peggy Noe Stevens created Bourbon Women back in 2011, Susan was one of her first members. Susan has played a leadership role, along with Peggy, since the beginning and is still highly involved in the local events.

Susan Reigler has a long history of involvement in the publishing side of the industry. Her writing does not get enough credit for her influence in bringing about the Bourbon boom of the 21st century. Susan Reigler is an Unsung Hero in my opinion.