The master blender

is the individual responsible for deciding what mix and percentage of various barrels make up the final flavor profile of an aged spirit. Most aged spirits are blends of liquid from various barrels with different ages, matured in different areas of a number of warehouses. While master distillers have become known as the characters behind many spirits and are often also responsible for the final blend, in many cases, especially with rum, the master blender is the most important person behind the final product. The word “blended” has specific meanings by custom and law depending on the country, especially referring to whisky. Rum producers particularly focus on the skills of their master blenders, like Appleton’s current master blender, Joy Spence, and Zacapa’s Lorena Vasquez. About a dozen men and women in Scotland currently are in charge of blended scotch whisky brands, a position earned after a multi-year apprenticeship.

See blending.

Broom, Dave. Rum. San Francisco: Wine Appreciation Guild, 2003.

Vora, Shivani. “From Chemist to Cocktails: Meet the Rum Industry’s First Female Master Blender.” Fortune, October 24, 2015. http://fortune.com/2015/10/24/female-master-blender/ (accessed February 19, 2021).

By: Jack Robertiello