There seems to be a growing trend in the whiskey world and that is when you start seeing the accustom faces you know and trust in a brand leave to go and start their own venture. Can you blame them? There is more opportunity to own a piece of the pie. But could we see a growing problem where we see those brands struggle to take off? To help dive into this conversation we invite Jason Callori of the Mash and Drum on the show. We kick off the show to learn more about Jason and how he built one of the largest whiskey YouTube channels. Then we talk about Master Distillers and other faces leaving their respected brands and what motivates such a move.
Show Notes:
- Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks the frustration of secondary prices and not finding bottles
- How did you get into bourbon?
- What channels influenced you to start your own channel?
- What wins, content or production value?
- Did you ever have a sensation of burnout?
- Who are some of the favorite guests that you have had on the show?
- Are you master distillers and faces of the brand leaving for more money?
- Has the Master Distiller title been diluted?
- How fair is it for blenders to be criticized when they only have access to what’s on the open market vs what they had at their disposal at a previous company?
- If you have a small brand and one batch bombs, how long can you rely on your reputation?
- Will a whiskey geek give someone a second chance?
- If someone is leaving from being a face of a brand, how long should they wait until they announce they are starting a new brand?
- @the_mash_and_drum
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2 thoughts on “395 – Why Are Master Distillers Leaving? with Jason Callori of The Mash and Drum”
Interesting discussion about master distillers leaving like Jackie Zykan among others, though the whole Eboni Major situation at Bulleit made national news when the NY Times picked up on it. It’s the best of times for bourbon in some ways, but the same old song and dance in other ways.
It’s all a money move which will eventually lead to end of the bourbon boom. That Jackie lady left a good respectable position among a desirable brand to go out put that hidden barn young bourbon trash out. Name one to leave and put something out better than the company they left? I’ll wait