The May Cut: This month’s whisky industry news
Our monthly news roundup for May brings with it a new class and chairwoman for the Council of Whiskey Masters, Spirited Awards Top 10 Nominations aplenty, female representation in a whisky documentary, a new women-centric initiative from Diageo India, and more.
We kicked this month off with a bang with the second outing of our Spirit of Speyside House Party held at The Dowans Hotel on 4 May.
With a global outreach in the whisky industry, it isn’t always easy for the OurWhisky Foundation commuinity to get together for a dram, so it was an absolute pleasure to get to say hi to old friends and meet new ones after another busy festival in Scotland.
We want to say a big thank you to everyone who came and to Tamnavulin for providing the all-important drams and cocktails, as well as to our wonderful hosts at The Dowans too.
But, what else happened in whisky in May? Tales of the Cocktail announced its Top 10 lists of nominees with female whisky writers, bartenders and brand ambassadors being recognised; The Council of Whiskey Masters enrolled two women into its 2025 class and named its new chairwoman for 2026; women in whisky were given the stage in a new docu-series, and much, much more.
Got some news you’d like us to include in our next roundup? Get in touch here.
Tales of the Cocktail announces Top 10 nominees for Spirited Awards
The annual New Orleans conference, Tales of the Cocktail (TOTC), this month announced the top 10 nominees for its 19th Spirited Awards.
Among them were many women working in the global whisky industry. Jenna Ba from Diageo made the Best International Brand Ambassador list while Gabrielle Nicole Pharms made the shortlist for Best Cocktail and Spirits Writing for her piece ‘Yes, Black women make country music - they also enjoy whiskey’ for Sweet July. Becky Garrison’s book Distilled in Washington: A history made it into the Best New Book on Drinks Culture, History, or Spirits top 10; and Amanda Jones of whiskey specialist bar Nickel City in Austin has been highlighted on the US Bartender of the Year list. The OurWhisky Foundation’s head of content and communications, Millie Milliken, was also shortlisted for her article, ‘License to spill: Six London landladies on what it takes to run a pub in 2024, for The Standard.
The top four in each category will be announced in June ahead of the ceremony in July.
Lochlea’s Jill Boyd leads first sherry and peat combination whisky
Jill Boyd joined Ayrshire’s Lochlea Distillery as its master blender in late 2024 and has led the selection and blending of Cask Strength Batch 3 from start to finish, her first lead project in the role.
“I am especially proud of Cask Strength Batch 3 as it has been my first opportunity to curate one of our whiskies from concept to bottle, putting my own mark on our range,” says Boyd of the project.
“I wanted to push the boundaries of our house style with something bold and different. As many whisky lovers will know, sherry and peat are both hugely popular flavour profiles, and we saw an opportunity to bring them together in a way that feels fresh and bold, yet rooted in our distillery’s DNA. It’s complex, it’s warming, and it’s got a smoky twist making it the perfect dram to enjoy with a BBQ in the sunshine!”
Boyd was previously master blender for Halewood Artisanal Spirits which produces whisky brands Aber Falls and Bonnington.
The Council of Whiskey Masters names new masters and chairwoman
The 2025 outing of the annual Council of Whiskey Masters exams has resulted in a new class of masters in Scotch, Bourbon and world whisky.
Out of the 16 new masters, two women were named as part of the cohort: Megan Sawkar is now a Master of Scotch, while Bethne Stewart is a Master of Bourbon.
The council also announced that it has appointed Monique Huston, vice-president of spirits at Winebow, as the new chairwoman of the board. Her role will come into effect in January 2026 when she will officially take over from current chairman Bernhard Schäfer.
The council’s advisory board is made up of some of the most influential women working in whisky, including Dr Rachel Barrie, Stephanie Macleod, Patricia Dillon, Nancy Fraley, Peggie Noe Stevens and Becky Offringa.
OurWhisky Foundation hosts second Spirit of Speyside House Party
Sunday 4 May saw revellers from the 2025 Spirit of Speyside whisky festival descend on The Dowans Hotel for the second House Party hosted by the OurWhisky Foundation.
Supported by Tamnavulin Whisky, the evening saw ticket holders enjoy cocktails including OurWhisky Highball, Bananavulin Penicillin, Speyside Wahay and Salted Caramel Old Fashioned; Double Cask, Sherry Cask and Port Cask Tamnavulin drams; as well as canapes from the Dowans, live music from DJ Jo Klass and a very special single cask Tamnavulin 12 Year Old, presented by The Dalmore brand home manager, Angela Wilson.
It was a chance for the OurWhisky Foundation community to come together and connect over the thing that binds us all together - whisky. We also made some wonderful new friends too. Thank you to everyone who came, and here’s to making it happen again in 2026.
Entries open for The Alan Lodge Young Drinks Writer award
Founded in honour of The Spirits Business’s later deputy editor, the Alan Lodge Young Drinks Writer award recognises writing talent from journalists, columnists and bloggers in the global drinks industry.
“There is a huge amount of writing talent in the international drinks trade, and year after year I’m so impressed by the calibre of entries we receive,” says editor-in-chief Melita Kiely of the awards. “This is a great opportunity to put the spotlight on your work and expertise – and I am looking forward to reading this year’s entries with our independent judges.”
Previous winners have included Eloise Feilden, Susannah Skiver Barton, and the OurWhisky Foundation’s Millie Milliken.
Submissions close on 27 June and entries should be sent as a URL, PDF or Word document and can be uploaded on The Spirits Business Awards website. Alternatively, email your entry to Christelle Monges: christelle.monges@thespiritsbusiness.com.
‘Mr Lyan’s Taste Trips’ episode two highlights women in Scotch
Episode two of the new YouTube docu-series ‘Mr Lyan’s Taste Trips’ from Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka Mr Lyan) aired on 28 May and focuses on Scotland and its national drink - Scotch whisky.
Chetiyawardana visits whisky distilleries The Singleton and Lagavulin and talks predominantly with women who work for the Diageo brands throughout the 30-minute episode, namely, Hazel Urquhart, retail manager at The Singleton; Karen Robertson, experience & events manager at Lagavulin Distillery; and Kirsten Robertson, senior operator at Lagavulin Distillery (pictured above).
By highlighting the women working in these distilleries on such a huge platform (the episode has already had 18,000 views on YouTube alone), Chetiyawardana and Diageo are making brilliant strides to change public preconceptions of who makes and works in whisky. We love to see it.
Diageo India and WSET collaborate on education initiative for women
Diageo India has collaborated with global drinks education authority the WSET to certify over 80 women in Level 1 Spirits this year as part of Diageo India’s Hive platform, launched in collaboration with Diageo Bar Academy.
Anchal Kaushal, vice president of customer marketing, Diageo India, said: “This collaboration reflects our long-standing commitment to inclusion, capability-building and progress. With the WSET’s world-class certification and the Diageo Bar Academy’s legacy of training excellence, we’re not just upskilling, we’re opening doors to leadership, confidence, and opportunity. This is how we build a workforce that reflects the diversity and dynamism our industry needs.”
The sessions aim to elevate technical knowledge and drive long-term career progression through mentorship, education and inclusive community building. The scholarship programme is free and aimed at women aged 21 years and above.
Lisa Roper Wicker joins Whiskey Thief Distilling co. as director of distilling
Lisa Roper Wicker has joined the Franklin County distillery, opened in 2023 and owned by Walter Zausch, as its director of distilling. She brings with her a wealth of experience having worked with the likes of Widow Jane, Alltech, Limestone Branch Distillery, Starlight Distillery and Preservation Distillery, and has had a particular interest in heirloom grains and large-scale as well as craft distilling practices.
Since 2017 she has also been running her own product development, distilling and blending consultancy Saints & Monsters.
“I’m impressed by the brand, distillery and tasting room, and the reputation Walter has built for Whiskey Thief in only five years as owner and CEO,” Wicker said of the move. “Add in a team of great people, delicious whiskey thieved straight from the barrel, goats, and live music; it’s a privilege to join this authentically Kentucky team.”
Zausch said of their new hire: “Lisa is someone we’ve known for a while, and are excited to bring her to Whiskey Thief to grow distilling, both in production quantity and quality, and be part of the team to develop the future of the brand.”
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