THE MATRIARCHS OF WHISKY

This International Women's Day, we celebrate the women who determine the flavour profiles of our favourite whiskies.

FOR A LONG TIME, whisky was thought to be a men’s world — men were the makers, the industrialists, the sellers, and ultimately, its consumers. It wasn’t just a great drink; whisky became a symbol of masculinity: a visual signifier in cinematic productions — men commiserating the passing of great men, over whisky.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, we speak to three leading voices in the world of whisky — Dr. Rachel Barrie of Glenglassaugh, Stephanie McLeod of Dewar’s, and Dr. Anne Brock of Bombay Sapphire — who have had a direct hand in determining precise flavour profiles of our favourite tipple. Their expertise, experience, attention to detail and, well, noses have made them veritable celebrities in the world of scotch, and it has been the privilege of our professional lives (and personal lives) to be able to speak to them and gain an insight into their process, their ideas and their philosophies.

DR. RACHEL BARRIE

MASTER BLENDER, GLENGLASSAUGH

Glenglassaugh’s Master Blender is one of the most prominent voices in whisky — she was inducted into the Whisky Hall of Fame in 2018 and is dubbed “the First Lady of Scotch”. She is also, hands down, one of our favourite people to speak to — to be in her presence is to be subject to her incredible warmth and generous spirit. And we adore her because within the heart of this scotch master beats the soul of a poet — you’ll see what we mean from her shared insights in a few paragraphs. Dr. Barrie has spent over three decades in whisky, beginning her whisky career as a research scientist at the Scotch Whisky Research Institute. Today, she creates some of the world’s finest single malts for BenRiach, The GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh.