I’ve interviewed quite a few folks this year for The Whiskey Lifestyle Q&A. Unfortunately,I’ve been a little slow on getting them out to the world… until now. In late July, we chatted with Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Blender Eboni Major, who is the woman behind Bulleit Blenders’ Select No. 001.
Major is passionate about her work and whiskey. She’s spent her entire career with Bulleit, after graduating from Alabama A&M University with a degree in food science and technology. As one of the first African-American women in whiskey, Major is most proud to be inspiring other women and African Americans to follow in her footsteps.
I spoke with Major about her career with the brand, Blenders’ Select and a certain bad girl she’d like to drink with.
The Whiskey Lifestyle: I’m sure the first question everyone asks you is what led you in into blending. It’s a fairly unique profession.
Eboni Major: I have a BS in science and chemistry. So, I’ve always been fascinated by food ingredients because of their functionality and how they work, but what led me to blending was more of the challenge and the mystery behind it. I will be honest with you, I didn’t fully understand how much was involved with blending until my second year. I think that’s what was really captivating about it. It was a huge mystery. I would probably be a career student if I didn’t have this job right now, cause I’m always learning. I love to learn. I also like to challenge people, but blending was the opportunity to have the science, but not be so rigid where you’re doing the same thing every day. I have the opportunity to work on innovations, to work on projects, to investigate what we’ve 20 or 30 years ago, and figure out why we’re doing it differently. For me, blending is really a dream job that I never would have imagined. I am crazy in love with what I do. It’s scary sometimes that I love it so much. That’s what took me to it, but what has kept me here for so long is that I’m still happy. I’m still learning every day. I’m still having the opportunities to innovate, and now I get to talk to people like you and consumers and bring that passion back to the lab. Because of blending, while my main job is consistency, it’s kind of evolving. As blenders, we have to evolve with consumers and their palate. Just being on the front end of making sure that we are innovating to meet what consumers will want is difficult because in 10 years when I want to release a project I can’t make those flavors right at that time I have to be thinking I’ve been now. That’s a little bit difficult, but that’s why we have to keep ourselves flexible and open to being innovative and transparent about what it is that we’re doing and what we’re trying to create. That’s what brought me to blending.
TWLS: I read that there was something about this opportunity at Bulleit that just spoke to you. What was it about the opportunity to work there that that spoke to you?
EM: I mean, I was immediately drawn to Diageo as a company. It has a huge portfolio, and when I looked at all of the brands within the Diageo portfolio, immediately what came to mind were the brands from my childhood — the Crowns [Crown Royal], the Smirnoffs. You see all of those big global brands that you’re used to seeing, but then you have some of these brands, like Bulleit, who at the time I had never heard of, but was able to do some research and see where the journey had been going and what else was in the future for the brand. So, it was really interesting to be one, in a company with such a large portfolio and such a global reach that would have all these opportunities; and two, I started right when we started to build our U.S. team and the opportunity to work on a brand that was moving positions. We were moving to our own distillery. We were changing a lot of different things within the brand. That was an exciting time for me to come on, but I was absolutely drawn to the idea of the bigger picture and being able to work in a company with so many different brands.
TWLS: In those five years, the brand has grown immensely. What’s it been like being a part of that evolution?
EM: It’s been amazing. Seeing people I went to school with or people that I know drinking Bulleit, it feels good because I still can go out and not a lot of people have heard about Bulleit. So, it’s great to be on that side where you can introduce people to the brand that you know, love and work on, but also provide them some education about what whiskey is and how it’s made. I love being a part of that growth. It gives you a sense of a passion when you know that you’ve been able to not only introduce, but share the story of the people that work on the brand. Every night when I go out and anytime I do a talk, I’ll talk about everybody from grain delivery to our warehouse guys, because we’re all there making it happen. Everybody doesn’t get to go out and see that. And now that we have a Visitor’s Center that opened last year, it’s fine for people to be able to come to Shelbyville and see our state-of-the-art facility. It’s the first time that they’ve been able to see distillation done in such an advanced way — very tech-forward, high-sustainability efforts. It’s really nice for me now [because] anytime I get bored, I can pop out and talk to people and just see what they felt about the tour. Or I can go up to the Visitor’s Center and have a cocktail with them. I really love that part, finding out why people love the brand so much.
TWLS: What is the biggest misconception that people have about whiskey? And more specifically, Bulleit?
EM: When it comes to whiskey, I think people’s biggest misconception is that you have to have a certificate to drink it. [laughs] It really frustrates me because people treat me the same when I walk in a bar, but it’s almost like this secret society. Anybody can drink a bourbon. You can order it with coke. You can order it with ginger ale. You can order it however you want. You still may get looks from the person next to you, but I think the biggest thing is the intimidation. I have that intimidation when it comes to wine, I kind of stay away from wine because there’s just so much out there. There’s so much to learn. And I think a lot of people are a little bit nervous to get into whiskey, but once you’ve started and you’ve tried, and you play with different flavors and ingredients, you just get hooked in and to see the differences, especially when it comes to making cocktails. That’s what makes Bulleit so great. I’s so versatile, depending on how sweet or sour you want your cocktail, or if you it to be fruity or herbal, Bulleit will always pair perfectly with that.
The biggest misconception about Bulleit is people always question about how our liquid has evolved and where we’re going. Bulleit is what we call a “Frontier Whiskey,” so we’re always pushing the envelope. Bulleit is a brand that’s committed to quality beginning to end. I always let people know my job has a blender doesn’t stop when I fixed the formula and give it to the plant to run for the year. If you go into a bar and you order a glass of Bulleit and you’re like, “This tastes like crap. I hate it. What’s going on?” That responsibility still falls back on me, so Bulleit is really, really, really big on quality. Quality is our number one, and I enjoy that portion of my job. So, when I say a misconception is just that consumers don’t know the amount of work that’s taken and required to put into creating that one formula for that bottle. So everyone that I can convince to come to Shelbyville, I would love for them to be able to come and learn more about the brand, the people behind it and what we do to ensure that the quality is great every day.
TWLS: Earlier, you mentioned innovation. Tell me a little bit about the Blender’s Select program and its first release recently.
EM: I’m not a rebel. I don’t consider myself a rebel. I just consider myself a free thinker. [laughs] It’s funny because the one thing I got in trouble for the most in school was being defiant. I learned that the meaning of that world early on. My parents raised me to be a free thinker and always question why. Of course it probably got on my bosses’ nerves at first. But over my four years, I was literally appraising thousands of barrels, time and time again. Our job is consistency — to ensure that grandpa that picked up the bottle in whatever year remembers his tastes and knows that it’s going to be the same when he picks it up this year. That’s a really hard job to do when you consider all the ever-changing variables from corn, barrels and woods. Sometimes you have these barrels or these small nuggets that taste and smell amazing, but just like the one friend that out-dresses the birthday girl, it just stands out too much. I’m that girl, unfortunately. It would stand out too much in a blend or it would change the profile of the blend that would not allow it to pass our sensory [panel]. So, we were managing the use of these barrels at very minimal percentages — 5% – 10%, but the barrels, the longer they age, they continue to evaporate. I’m just like, “What the hell? Why do we keep sitting and letting you know these barrels evaporate when we can do something else with them? My manager trusted me enough to allow me to not only pitch the idea, but to be fully responsible for creating the blend. I got his sensory feedback, maybe once or twice, and that was pretty much it, but I was able to create a blend that I love. Whenever people ask what, how would you describe it? “Decadent” is the word because it’s rich, it’s smooth, it’s creamy. It’s everything that Eboni would want in a glass. But it also is still Bulleit, and that was really important for me. When I talk about innovation and creating something new, I’m really excited to talk about it but one thing I’ve missed letting people know is that I have to make sure that my blends still fit within what is Bulleit. I couldn’t just go and create something completely different. I had to make sure that what I was creating would fit within our brand strategy because I treat it as if it’s my own brand. So, I have to make sure that this liquid profile would be different enough that people understood why it was a premium price and why it was a different offering, but it wasn’t something that you’re like, “Wait, is this Bulleit? Are you sure?” So, I was able to find small nuggets of flavor and spice — the spice in it’s a very different this one because it doesn’t linger. It has a short, sweet finish on it, different than your typical Bulleit. I was able to create something that I really loved and consumers are receiving it very well, which is exciting for me because you do all this work and you’re forever stuck with imposter syndrome. Then as you started to see the reviews rolling, you’re like, “Okay, people like it just as much as you do.” That’s been really exciting to see what I’ve been able to accomplish from the mature end, and that’s easier for me now. I’m also pushing the company on the other end. Like what kind of distillate can we do? What kind of grain should we be looking at? And those take years. Those take forever for consumers to finally see what we’re working on because we’re just trying to stay ahead of trends and make sure that we’re distilling and creating things for our future innovations.
TWLS: To that point, the Blender’s Select bottle was labeled “No. 001”. Does this mean there will be more releases?
EM: I am always looking and trying to identify what else is out there. Right now, we have other innovations that we have planned. I’m not currently working on a No. 002. Hopefully, sometime in the future, I will be. But I’m always appraising samples and writing my notes. We get all of our examples from a barrel in a 200 ml bottle. Whenever I find something nice, I have a stash so, I put it over to the side where nobody else can use it. [laughs] But as soon as I start that work. I am always ready to start because I want more people to taste it and see the different things that we have to offer. Also, because it provides an appreciation for what Bulleit Orange Label is. Blenders’ Select is only three of the 10 mash bills that are in Orange Label, so you get to really see the difference of the flavor profiles mash bills and the yeast provide and how that can impart different flavors in the finished product.
TWLS: You mentioned earlier about having to take these opportunities to talk about being a woman to be a person of color in the whiskey industry. For people who are looking to follow in your footsteps, what is a piece of advice would you give them?
EM: That’s a tough one. If I looked back on the past and where I started, there were a lot of things I would do different. For people of color, my biggest thing is your education. Learn the industry, learn the science, learn the business because, if we’re being completely honest in this conversation, we have to know about 50% more than the other people. And so despite your networking abilities, know your stuff. And that may be also the student in me that’s giving this advice, but take advantage of the one thing people can’t take from you and that’s your education. It’s so funny when people ask me, ‘What is blending?’ People are still asking me that now in 2020. So in 2015, as I was looking to make a career here, I didn’t have all that information available to me. So, go out and do your research and really start to lean on people like me and others who have been able to navigate the industry and not only survive and thrive in it, but that are pushing boundaries and making waves. But I definitely understand that just as women are heavier consumers of whiskey than previously known, African-Americans, we are as well. So for us to be, and Diageo as a company has stated it several times and has committed to it that our employee base has to mirror our consumer base, so we need more African Americans in here. Also, as African Americans, we understand what it’s like going into an industry where it’s very limited, but I would just encourage people to just put those fears at the door and just go after it. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. It won’t be easy. It will be hard. You’ll want to give up, but just put those fears at the door because there’s just so much more out there to change if you believe in yourself. I don’t believe in myself nearly as much as the 15 people that text me all day and night. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here because they believed in me 10 times more than I do myself. But just making sure you get that education, that you don’t allow your fears to stop you and that you surround yourself with a great support system. Once you do that, there’s nothing anybody can do to stop you. I honestly feel that way about myself, that there’s nothing anybody can do to stop me from getting what’s for me.
TWLS: How has 2020, and all that has come with it, effected either your work or you personally?
EM: The past few months have probably been the hardest of my lifetime. I want to dissect this for you, so you completely understand. I am 29 years old. I started my role in 2015 working as the first African-American whiskey blender, who currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky, where Breonna Taylor was shot. And there was a lot of political upset. I not only work in the whiskey industry, that is predominantly in rural areas in Kentucky, so I don’t even have to tell you what my experience has been like. All I have to do is give you is the context of it. But despite all of that, the beauty that has come from all of this pain is I’m a huge introvert. I don’t like socializing. I don’t really like talking to people. I have been stuck in this house, and that has allowed me to open up to so many women in this industry. That to me has been the biggest blessing. My work lifestyle changed. I had to get the same amount of work done while only going in the lab half of the time, but I told you I’m crazy in love with my job so I got it done. My schedule is a little bit different. I tried to build my own little lab in this two bedroom apartment but that didn’t work because I like to cook. I don’t anymore, but I was willing to do what I could cook. I was limited in my candles and all those things were restrictions from 9 to 5 that once I got home, I was like happy to light up because I don’t know if you know, I don’t wear perfumes and lotions. I only eat certain things when I’m at work. So COVID, when I was trying to work from home, took all that freedom away from me. As far as the industry, I appreciate the call to action. This industry was started by African-Americans, but it just was built to exclude us. At the time that whiskey, moonshining and all this production, we know who was doing the physical work. I am just happy that we’re at a point where people are starting to talk about that history, but not just talk about that history, but really use that history to create a new path towards the the future.
TWLS: We like to end all of our Q&As with a few fun questions. First one, what is your favorite drink in?
EM: I don’t know that I have my favorite city. My favorite city so far has been San Francisco. And that’s probably because I’ve gone there maybe two or three times for work. I can pop in, talk to some badass bartender, give them a flavor profile of what I like and they create this amazing cocktail.
TWLS: If you could have a poor of Bulleit with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?
EM: It would be Rihanna. I don’t care what anybody says, I am a fan girl to the end. I love Rihanna for a lot of reasons, but I see a lot of myself in her. The path and where she started and, even though it’s upsetting me that I’m not getting any more music, how she has found what is making her happy and doing that regardless. And she does a lot of work for her hometown.
TWLS: My last question is what does “The Whiskey Lifestyle” mean to you?
EM: My “whiskey lifestyle” is completely different than everyone else’s. And I want to tell you too much because maybe one day I’ll bring that open to people, but my whiskey lifestyle is sitting at home with my dog, my yoga, my plants and just music. That’s what’s so great about whiskey is that you can enjoy it however you want on any occasion. When I started the role, that was the most intimidating thing. I called my mom one day and told her, “I can’t do this. This is a lifestyle, not job.” I started as an intern. I flat out told her, “It’s intimidating. People expect you to live, eat, and breathe whiskey.” It was hard, but it literally now is all I think about. How can I do this? How can I do that? My obsession used to be skincare. But “whiskey lifestyle” is whatever you want to make it. There are no rules to drinking whiskey. That’s what people have to understand. The only rule is to not listen to anybody else. Drink it, enjoy it. Just don’t over-drink it, enjoy responsibly.
