Four of the 10 Best Female Master Blenders Produce Rum

     The Spirit Industry has named the top ten female distillers and blenders of the world make rum.  The need for quality products and the use of blending especially in the production of rum takes seriously qualified people.  These four ladies measure up to the job exceptionally well.

Joy Spence from Appleton Rums

     Joy Spence’s “passion for the art of creating rum blends” shone through, and in 1997 she was appointed master blender at Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum. During her tenure, she has been responsible for a number of noted releases, including the limited edition Appleton Estate 50 Year Old Jamaica Rum. She says blending rum is a combination of art and science, “bearing in mind the compatibility of the different marks, the effects of ageing, and the Chemistry profile”.   In 2005, Spence was honored by the Government of Jamaica who awarded her the Order of Distinction in the Rank of Officer, (OD) for her service to industry.

Lorena Vasquez from Ron Zacapa Rum

     Lorena Vásquez says being a master blender is not a profession but a way of life.   Almost 25 years on, and in her role as master blender, Vásquez is credited with improving the brand’s Sisterna solera ageing system, and has developed and released an array of rums, including Zacapa 23 and Zacapa XO.   “As I have a true passion for rum making and I am a perfectionist at heart, nothing gives me greater pleasure than meeting those who appreciate and enjoy Zacapa,” she says.



Bridget Firtle from The Noble Experiment

     Bridget Firtle got her first taste of the drinks industry working at hedge fund Knott Partners as a global alcoholic beverages analyst. Then, in 2012, Firtle quit her job and branched out into production, founding The Noble Experiment rum distillery in Brooklyn, and resurrecting New York’s long history of spirits manufacture.   The resulting product is Owney’s NYC Rum a “distinctive, complex, dry white rum” made from all-natural, non-GMO molasses, with infusions and barrel-aged expressions in the works.   According to Firtle’s website, the ambition is “to bring native rum back to the US”.

Jassil Villanueva Quintana from Brugal

     Fifth generation descendant Jassil Villanueva Quintana had joined the maestros roneros line-up. Not only was she the youngest to hold the title, she was also the first woman. With the promotion came the shift from logistics to liquid production, and the pressure to “live up to the expectations of the older Maestros Roneros”, she said at the time of her appointment.   There was no need to worry: her first release was Papá Andrés Alegría, or ‘Joy’, a well-received luxurious expression celebrating the brand’s founding father, Don Andrés Brugal Montaner.

     Congratulations to all ten of the women that were named as the world's best, and especially to the women of rum.   ;o)

Read More at http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2016/03/top-10-female-master-distillers-and-blenders/