🥃 Master distiller

On a bourbon or Scotch label, or on a distillery tour, you will often meet the master distiller: the person responsible for spirit production at a distillery, from receiving grain and fermentation to distillation, cut selection and cask filling. The title has no legal definition. The owner grants it, and duties differ between companies. It is most often used at bourbon distilleries in Kentucky.

Duties. At small distilleries, according to The Whiskey Wash, the master distiller runs mashing and distillation, decides how the mash ferments, assesses the distillate, sets the cuts of heads, hearts and tails, and selects and fills the casks. At large plants the role is more about managing production and representing the brand. Conor O'Driscoll of Heaven Hill walks through the round-the-clock plant every day, tastes the wash in the fermenters and the distillate from the stills.

Path to the title. Elizabeth McCall joined Brown-Forman in 2009 in the laboratory and sensory room. From 2015 she was a master taster, then assistant master distiller. In 2023 she became the third master distiller of Woodford Reserve, succeeding Chris Morris, who received an honorary title. McCall herself says there is no clear definition of who a master distiller is.

Difference from the master blender. The master distiller is responsible for what the spirit will be like, while the master blender is responsible for which casks go into the bottle and in what proportions. At small distilleries both roles are often held by one person. Today a master distiller is often also the face of the brand: giving interviews, leading tastings and working on new releases.

Why this matters to you. The master distiller's name on the label is a signature of responsibility for the style, but not an official sign of quality, because no law regulates the title. A strong drink remains a strong drink, whoever makes it. The WHO reminds us: there is no safe level of alcohol.