Meet the mentee: Jade Cox, distiller
Jade Cox was working in Wetherspoons when she joined the OurWhisky FOundation’s Atonia Programme. Now, she is a distiller at an upcoming distillery in the Midlands. She explains how building her confidence and networking skills led her to take her first steps in her dream career in whisky.
OurWhisky Foundation: Hi Jade! Tell us a bit about yourself.
Jade Cox: I was born and subsequently grew up in the city of Derby, and continue to live there to this day. I've always had a creative mind and a great passion for my interests, but struggled to find the right outlet for these skills. I've dabbled in illustration, animation, music and writing, many of which I still love to do in my free time, as well as play a multitude of games, be it video games or tabletop games.
OWF: What were your thoughts on your future career when you were growing up?
JC: My career prospects have changed course multiple times, but growing up I always envisioned my job being a creativity focused one, such as an animator or writer. I did pursue an animation career, gaining a BTEC in graphic design and working in the industry for a short while, before realising I didn't gel with the work cycle at all and left for other pursuits, namely a career in psychology.
OWF: When did your love of whisky begin and why?
JC: As I was studying for my psychology course at university, I took a part-time job at a nightclub in Nottingham. As someone with autism and a passing distaste for club music it should have been a struggle, however I found myself taking a lot of pride in my job as a bartender; so much so that, despite not liking alcohol at the time, I went out of my way to find some I enjoyed so I could know what I was selling. I did eventually find some liqueurs I enjoyed, which then opened my eyes to trying more spirits.
The first dram that got me to enjoy whisky was Jameson Original; from there I simply just kept trying new spirits, expanding my palate and eventually dropping out of university to pursue a career in the field due to my love of the art form that is distillation.
“The mentorship programme was an opportunity to both create a network and build up my confidence enough to ‘crowbar my way’ into an industry that is both slow moving and pretty closed off.”
OWF: Why did you apply for the OurWhisky Foundation Atonia Programme?
JC: As a (at the time) working bartender with a burning passion for the industry, I wanted to get into it as soon as I could, however I didn't have any contacts to talk to, nor any particularly good networking skills to allow myself the opportunity to attain a new network. The mentorship programme was an opportunity to both create a network and build up my confidence enough to, as I like to put it, ‘crowbar my way’ into an industry that is both slow moving and pretty closed off.
On tour: Cox quit her job and went on a tour of UK distilleries to widen her network and learn more about making whisky.
OWF: What were the biggest challenges for you in progressing?
JC: Simply knowing where to start was a huge issue, as well as having the willpower and nerve to actually take the leap I needed to break into the industry the way I knew I could.
OWF: How did you work with your mentor to overcome these?
JC: Alice [Pearson, distillery manager at Cotswolds Distillery] started me off by broadening my horizons of potential job prospects, as at the time I was dead set on becoming a distiller and blender. I looked at the wider industry and found other roles that I liked the look of; positions such as event host, brand ambassador and whisky sommelier; all great prospects, but my initial desire for a distiller role was still my primary choice. Alice also then encouraged me to take the leaps and risks I had been wanting to take for months; something I desperately needed!
OWF: What was your first ‘a-ha!’ moment in the programme?
JC: Around the start of the programme I had been fantasising about what I would do to get myself known in the industry (often while at my bar job which I had long outgrown). One such plan was going on a countrywide distillery tour, and this idea stuck in my head for months on end. Eventually, after the Power Room sessions [on the programme], as well as a pep talk from my mentor, I made the jump and left my previous job to aggressively pursue the job I knew would truly fulfil me.
OWF: What has been your biggest win during the Atonia Programme?
JC: Easily it was coming back home after my month-long tour and being presented almost immediately with two separate job offers for a distiller role in two different distilleries.
Paying it forward: The programme has also helped Cox lift other people up who might be struggling to find their place in whisky.
OWF: What does your new role entail?
JC: My current job role entails a large amount of stuff outside the scope of simply a ‘distiller’. I can't talk too much about it at this moment as this current project is still in development, but I'm currently helping to found a new English whisky distillery in the Midlands. Besides that I'm also giving a helping hand to some other local distilleries with their production, since (as I'm writing this) we are currently in the run up to Christmas.
OWF: What advice would you give someone applying for or starting the programme?
JC: The best thing I've seen this programme do is help those who feel they are at a dead end in their career lift themselves up by their bootstraps and do what's right for them, be it pushing for a promotion they deserve, getting themselves fairer treatment in the workplace, or straight up changing careers because they realise the field they are currently in is not right for them. If you're feeling hopeless or aimless in your professional life, this programme will help, I assure you.
“If you're feeling hopeless or aimless in your professional life, this programme will help, I assure you.”
OWF: How has this programme empowered you to empower others?
JC: It has allowed me both to find people who I can help lift themselves up in tough times, but also those who I can help professionally, be it helping with the production side, or giving publicity to a particular product someone is wanting to get the name out about through my writing and spirit reviews.
OWF: What are your hopes for the future for women working in whisky?
JC: I'm hoping that we get to a point where a question like this doesn't need to be raised anymore, where it's not unusual to see different people of different genders, races, ages and backgrounds enjoying and working in the realm of whisky. After all, it's just a liquid - it doesn't discriminate against its drinkers, so why should we?
DISCOVER MORE FROM THE CUT
