bourbonveachdotcom

Several years ago, I wrote a blog about the women in history of the Bourbon industry. A lot has changed since I wrote that blog. Women have become a larger part of the industry. That is not saying that there is not room for more women playing larger roles, but progress has been made, slowly, but surely women are gaining more influence in the distilling industry. This improvement needs to be acknowledged. 

Women are beginning to take on the high profile roles such as Master Distiller. Lisa Wicker is now Director of Distilling at Whiskey Thief Distillery in Kentucky. She has had a long and difficult road to this job, but she is settling in well and is the face of the company. Elizabeth McCall is the Master Distiller at Woodford Reserve Distillery in Woodford County, Kentucky. Kelley Tennille is a distiller and Gin Master at Whiskey Thief Distillery. Andrea Wilson is the Master of Maturation at Michter’s Distillery in Shiveley, Kentucky. There are many more women moving into the role of Master Distiller.

More importantly, women are becoming distillery owners. Marsha Milam and Heather Greene founded their own distillery in Texas and have had great success with their whiskeys. Heather is a whiskey author and a Master Blender, while Marsha is their distiller. Joyce Nethery is the founder of Jeptha Creed Distillery. She was trained as a chemical engineer and with her daughter Autumn, they turned the family farm into a distillery making grain to glass whiskey. Jane Bowie partnered with Denny Potter to found the Potter Jane Distillery. Another whiskey company with a woman partner is Lost Lantern. They are not a distillery, but a rectifying company purchasing barrels from many different distilleries across the United States and blending them together to create unique whiskeys. Nora Ganley-Roper is a co-founder of the company with partner Adam Polonski. Together, they have created some excellent whiskeys from barrels purchased from artisan distilleries. 

Women are also taking positions in sales and becoming the face of the distillery at many events. Jordan Germano is the Communications Director at the Ben Holladay Distillery in Missouri. April Weller Cantrell was the Operations and Marketing Director at Leiper’s Fork Distillery in Tennessee before moving back to Kentucky. Amy Fox is the Head of Experiences in Louisville for the Whiskey Thief Distillery.

Women have made strides in the distilling industry. These are just a few of the women taking leading roles at distilleries and whiskey companies. They have come a long way, but there is still a lot of road ahead for women in the industry. The future is bright for women in the industry.

Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller