It’s probably been more than 25 years since the theme or topic of “women in whisky” first got written about in the modern circles of whisky publishing. By which I mean the new wave of books and magazines that started to emerge in the 1990’s, and the endless number of blogs, forums, and social media outlets in more recent times. Indeed, flicking through my old back issues of Whisky Magazine from the early 2000’s, it didn’t take me long to find articles, profiles, and feature pieces that all revolved around women and whisky, or women in whisky.
It is an interesting topic to write about in 2023. In some ways, there is a valid sentiment that holds this shouldn’t be a thing anymore. Afterall, we’ve had several decades now of articles, interviews, and profile pieces highlighting the wonderful work of female distillers, master blenders, brand ambassadors, writers, journalists, bartenders, visitor centre managers, mixologists, and so on. Women are prolific in so many corners and reaches of the whisky industry these days, one could be forgiven for questioning if gender needs to be an issue anymore. And yet…
Speak to any woman in any of the aforementioned roles within the whisky industry, and you’ll be surprised, if not saddened, to learn how attitudes and behaviours around gender still blight the scene. As it is in so many other industries and professions (engineering/construction being a good example), women in whisky are confronted with and combat many challenges and hurdles that their male counterparts simply don’t face. Or are even aware of. Speak to the women who are at the coal face of the whisky game, and it is evident that our industry still has a long way to go.
Such issues were touched on at a wonderful event held in Sydney recently, courtesy of Brown Forman. Dr Rachel Barrie, Master Blender for the Brown Forman group of distilleries (Glendronach, Benriach, and Glenglassaugh) was undertaking her first ever trip to Australia, and it thus presented a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the journeys and achievements of the many women who are active in the Australian whisky (and broader distilling) community.
Held at Elizabeth Bay House, some 50 people came to hear from a panel of accomplished women who shared their experiences and insights. Chaired by Brown Forman brand ambassador, Carmen Hartwich, the panel consisted of Dr Rachel Barrie, Emily Ashbolt-Cason, and Kathleen Davies. It was a diverse but no less formidable line-up: Barrie has firmly stamped her name on Brown Forman’s scotch brands, but her CV boasts six years as Master Blender for Morrison Bowmore / Suntory, and sixteen years prior to that in growing roles (including Master Blender) with The Glenmorangie Company – an entity that also came to incorporate The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, and Moet Hennessy (LVMH). Ashbolt-Cason keeps a low profile (by design, she readily acknowledged), but is the co-CEO/founder/owner of The Whisky Club – effectively Australia’s largest whisky retailer and likely the biggest whisky club in the world. Kathleen Davies boasts no less than 30 years in the drinks industry and would be known to most through her business Nip of Courage (a wholesaler and exporter of Australian craft spirits) and, importantly, as the founder and Chair of Women of Australian Distilling. Women of Australian Distilling is a collective to promote, encourage, and support women within the Australian craft distilling industry. The organisation aims to support career development for women in the field of distilling, ambassadorship, marketing, administration, management, cellar door operations and more.
Through a number of questions and discussion points put forward by Hartwich, the trio shared not just their achievements but, importantly, the hurdles, obstacles, and challenges they encountered (and continue to encounter) along the way. Many of these challenges revolved around bias in the industry; pre-conceived or chauvinistic attitudes amongst consumers, customers, and punters; myopic vision and thinking around whisky’s marketing and promotion; and just plain, downright sexism. Some of it can, occasionally, be accidental or inadvertent, but it remains an unfortunate symptom of entrenched culture: Ashbolt-Cason cited the all-too common occurrence of seeing some newcomer join an online whisky chat group or Facebook group, and start their first, introductory post with, “Hey, gents…” – instantly alienating or excluding the women in the group.
Other occurrences are more unpalatable, such as seeing patrons at a bar direct all their questions to the male bartender and ignoring the female bartender on the very-mistaken assumption she’d know less about the topic. Or being invisible at a whisky event, where the host’s attention was firmly directed only at the males in the room. And, most ubiquitous of all: Being constantly asked, “Do you actually like whisky?” It’s not that the question is inherently terrible in and of itself, it’s simply that it’s never directed at the men in the industry. It is the result of clumsy and misplaced assumption and, unfortunately, an under-current of 19th-century thinking amongst some that, somehow, whisky is only a man’s drink. (Is there actually such a thing?)
Davies sees another side to the issues, having observed that men in the drinks industry tend to put their best foot forward, often over-stating (or over-estimating) their experience, yet still being bold enough to apply for or sell themselves to roles they’re less qualified for. Women, she’s observed in contrast, tend to under-estimate or under-value their skills and capabilities, sometimes talking themselves into not applying for a role for which they’re more than qualified. On a similar front, Davies has further observed over the years that women are less inclined than their male counterparts to blow their own trumpet or shout their achievements from the rooftops. In an age where the patterns and norms of social media increasingly revolve around self-promotion, this admirable modesty can, unfortunately, mean some very accomplished and high-achieving women simply don’t get the recognition they deserve, or their share of the limelight.
A sad irony to much of this is that, in reality, women are kicking goals across the game. As was evident on the evening, women increasingly occupy key roles across the distilling and drinks industry, particularly so in Australia. Indeed, if you asked me to rattle off the names of every Australian distiller, distillery worker, or distillery owner I know, I can name more women than men! To Davies’ point earlier, it is true that many of them could be tagged with the Australian compliment of being quiet achievers.
In discussing the stereotypes and pre-conceived biases around whisky and marketing, it is increasingly evident that we all need to re-calibrate not just around gender, but also age. Much of whisky’s promotion continues to be aimed at an older, male demographic, which flies in the face of where the action is seemingly at. Ashbolt-Cason, through her membership database and marketing with The Whisky Club, has accurate insights into the demographics and behaviours around whisky consumption. She shared that women make up 40% of all Scotch drinkers, and that 60% of The Whisky Club’s members were under 35 – two figures that certainly belie the common stereotype.
To that end, then, the evening was a fantastic celebration of women in whisky, and it did not go unnoticed that some of Australia’s leading female distillers, blenders, brand ambassadors, marketers, hospitality, PR, and media players travelled from far and wide to attend the night.
Click on the images above to enlarge
Of course, having Rachel Barrie in the country meant the evening could also showcase her work with Glendronach. The evening thus incorporated a tasting of some wonderful malts, whilst hearing from the woman who made them about all the various features of production and what she is trying to achieve with each expression. Through the course of the evening, guests were treated to The Glendronach 12yo, The Glendronach 18yo, and a very special 1994 single-cask release of The Glendronach, bottled as a 28yo. And then, as an extra surprise, the very rich and luxurious The Glendronach Grandeur (Batch 12). Bottled from a special selection of Spanish oak ex-oloroso sherry casks, it was a delicious conclusion to a fantastic evening. Our main photo at the top of this article features just some of the many talented women in the industry who attended on the night – congrats and thanks for your wonderful work!
With thanks to Brown Forman and We Are Different.
Cheers,
AD
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