Bacardi appoints Director of Blending, Scotch Whisky

Bacardi is promoting Stephanie Macleod, Master Blender for its portfolio of Scotch whiskies, to a newly created role as Director of Blending, Scotch Whisky – a promotion that recognizes her talent and 25 years’ experience in crafting Scotch whisky.

Macleod will continue to lead the blending legacy of Dewar’s, William Lawson’s, and the five single malts – Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Craigellachie, The Deveron and Royal Brackla – as malt master.

Her expanded remit will also see her develop the people and processes needed to continue to the premiumization of the range and help deliver on the family-owned spirits company’s ambition to be industry leaders in innovation and quality.

At the 2022 International Whisky Competition, Macleod was crowned ‘Master Blender of the Year’ for an unprecedented fourth year in a row, a feat which recognizes her world-leading expertise in the art of blending. She is only the seventh Master Blender in Dewar’s 176-year history.

Macleod became the first female Master Blender for Dewar’s in 2006, following her official three-year training with the then Master Blender. She joined Bacardi, based in Glasgow in 1998, and began her career in whisky as a Sensory Analyst at the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, working on a project which attempted to unlock the maturation secrets of Scotch whisky.