Women, whisky and ‘the other room’

From female founders to master distillers, the whisky world is finally recognising women’s role within the industry

Why wait for International Women’s Day to celebrate women? A commemorative day is a good excuse, true, but we don’t need to wait to recognise the contributions of female and female-identifying individuals to the drinks industry. Right? Right.

When I put out a call on my social media to ask for the contacts of inspiring women who work in whisky, my inbox was flooded with names, press releases and, most hearteningly, whisky professionals commending their contemporaries and friends. “The industry is getting better at giving women credit for the work they do,” whisky educator and writer Kristiane Westray told me, noting that blender Margaret Nicol at Whyte & Mackay, who started in the industry way back in 1974, has only recently been in the spotlight. Similarly, Maureen Robinson, who worked in whisky for more than 45 years, was inducted into the Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame as recently as 2020. “There are also more women studying Stem subjects [science, technology, engineering and mathematics], which is usually a requirement in roles such as distilling and blending.”