With over 20 years of experience, Sarah Burgess knows a thing or two about making quality single malt. Born and raised in Speyside, surrounded by distilleries, it wasn’t until she began traveling as an adult that she realized there weren’t distilleries around every corner! It was a natural progression of her whisky passion to beginContinue reading “Sarah Burgess – Lead Whisky Maker for The Macallan”
Category Archives: Women
Janiene Bayliss – Ata Mara Estate
Janiene Bayliss is co-owner and Director of Ata Mara Estate, a vineyard encompassing over 20 hectares in Central Otago, New Zealand. That may sound casual, but she was actually the one that converted the land from sheep farming into vineyards producing hand crafted, award winning, and internationally selling wines back in the early 2000s! ThisContinue reading “Janiene Bayliss – Ata Mara Estate”
Jane Bowie – Maker’s Mark
Jane Bowie’s career in whiskey started with a cover letter explicitly stating “I don’t want this job, but…”. Having written to Maker’s Mark at her mother’s behest regarding a job opening for an Event Planner, she went on to detail the role she would love to have at the company – a position which involvedContinue reading “Jane Bowie – Maker’s Mark”
Samara Davis, Founder of Black Bourbon Society
Samara Davis is a pretty amazing woman on a mission. With a Master’s in Art Administration and a background in event planning, she discovered a love for whiskey in her 30s. While producing a bourbon event in San Francisco, she noticed the marketing and overall style of the event wasn’t inclusive or welcoming to PeopleContinue reading “Samara Davis, Founder of Black Bourbon Society”
Kelsey McKechnie – Apprentice Malt Master at Balvenie
In 2018, at the age of 26, Kelsey McKechnie became one of the youngest women to ever achieve the rank of Apprentice Malt Master, studying the craft under David Stewart (one of the longest serving Malt Masters in the industry). She’d only been working for William Grant & Sons (parent company of Balvenie) for aContinue reading “Kelsey McKechnie – Apprentice Malt Master at Balvenie”
Kirsteen Campbell: The Macallan’s Master Whisky Maker
If there’s someone to inspire women in the world of whisky, it’s Kirsteen Campbell. She’s the first woman to hold the title of Master Whisky Maker for Scotch Single Malt giant The Macallan, a brand that was created back in 1824. With a background in food science, she didn’t realize a career could be madeContinue reading “Kirsteen Campbell: The Macallan’s Master Whisky Maker”
Nicole Austin
Known as a groundbreaker and badass Master Distiller, Nicole Austin has co-founded two craft distilling trade organizations and is making strides by helping put Tennessee whiskey back on the bourbon map. Having gained her degree in Chemical Engineering from Manhattan College in 2006, her initial goal was to become the next Erin Brockovich – savingContinue reading “Nicole Austin”
Julieann Fernandez – From Criminal Science to Whisky Blender
At just 29 years old, Julieann Fernandez is the Master Blender for the Distell Group, which includes Bunnahabhain, Deanston, and Tobermory distilleries. Always interested in science, she went to university with an eye towards becoming a forensic scientist, but when doing her placement between her 3rd and 4th year, she was drawn to a labContinue reading “Julieann Fernandez – From Criminal Science to Whisky Blender”
Maggie Kimberl – President of Bourbon Women
Bourbon Women is celebrating their 10 year anniversary and just named a new President, Maggie Kimberl. Founded by Peggie Noe Stevens, the association was created to support and empower women in the whiskey industry and female whiskey consumers. Kimberl founded bourbonveach.com, a whiskey history and news site, and has also been a contributor and/or editorContinue reading “Maggie Kimberl – President of Bourbon Women”
Marianne Eaves – Kentucky Bourbon’s First Female Master Distiller
Passionate about math and science as a child, Marianne Eaves didn’t have her sights set on becoming Kentucky’s first bourbon female Master Distiller. After high school, she and her mother opened a boutique consignment art shop; and while that didn’t last, it taught her a lot about entrepreneurism. After receiving a degree in chemical engineering,Continue reading “Marianne Eaves – Kentucky Bourbon’s First Female Master Distiller”
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