Milam & Greene CEO Heather Greene Honored as “Master Blender of the Year” by Bourbon Women
Greene has long been a trailblazer in the whiskey industry. She was the first American woman to serve on the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society Tasting Panel and the first woman to write a whiskey book shortlisted in the New York Times.
Milam & Greene Whiskey is thrilled to announce that CEO and master blender, Heather Greene, was recognized as the “Master Blender of the Year” at the inaugural WOW (Women of Whiskey) Awards, presented in collaboration with the Bourbon Women Foundation. The awards were presented at a ceremony during the Bourbon Women SIPosium on August 25, 2023.
The WOW Awards recognize exceptional women leaders who have made indelible marks in the whiskey industry. Greene was awarded the Master Blender of the Year based on her ingenuity, creativity, her sensory awareness, her deep and nuanced understanding of whiskey products, and her extensive market awareness. Her business skills catapulted Milam & Greene Whiskey to be one of the fastest-growing premium spirits brands in the United States, underscoring her keen understanding of the whiskey consumer and market positioning.
“Heather knows whiskey, and she knows business,” says Sharon Whieldon, Milam & Greene Whiskey marketing director and industry veteran. “There aren’t a lot of people who can build such a successful company and serve as the whiskey architect at the same time. She’s an anomaly and inspiration.”
Greene has long been a trailblazer in the whiskey industry. She was the first American woman to serve on the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society Tasting Panel and the first woman to write a whiskey book shortlisted in the New York Times. Under her creative whiskey direction, Milam & Greene Whiskey is now one of the most awarded and buzzed-about whiskies in the U.S. It has won “Best in Show” for the Port Finished Rye at the American Craft Spirits Awards and Gold and Double Gold medals for their bourbons at numerous prestigious international competitions. Peers at the ASCOT awards named Milam & Greene Whiskey “Rising Spirits Company in America 2023.”
Under Greene’s leadership Milam & Greene Whiskey was among the first distilleries to celebrate blending vintage Straight Bourbon casks with bourbon from very young casks, something others thought was “a wild thing to do.” Blending whiskey as young as 2 years with 13-year-old whiskey, let alone blending whiskies from various distilleries and different types of stills was unheard of and somewhat frowned upon when Milam & Greene introduced Triple Cask Bourbon in 2019.
“I love how old whiskeys mingle with young whiskeys,” says Greene. “Each brings such a unique personality to the table, and together they can create something sublime. Milam & Greene Triple Cask Bourbon, which blends three differently aged whiskeys from three states, was designed in early 2018 and released in 2019 and remains the whiskey closest to my heart. We add vintage whiskey to every batch of Triple Cask Bourbon, and that’s why it’s such a gorgeous sipper at any price.”
Milam & Greene Whiskey is well-known for its skilled distilling and blending across a multitude of products that include their much sought-after limited-edition Blender’s Reserve Collection which includes Very Small Batch Bourbon, Unabridged Volumes Bourbon, and Castle Hill Vintage Series. Heather Greene and her team first released their award-winning core range including Triple Cask Bourbon and Port Cask Finished Rye in 2019, and since then these small-batch products have propelled the company into one of the most successful independently-run whiskey companies in America. Milam & Greene whiskies are known for their finesse, refinement, nuance, and ethereal quality.