Eboni Major ended up in her role in a roundabout kind of way. As a young girl, she grew up in a busy household where cooking was a large part of her life. Her passion for flavor and curiosity for how food was produced and created led her to major in Food Science & Technology at the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University and went on to earn a master’s degree in Food Science.

 

Although her professional background began in Quality Control, Eboni discovered an opportunity for an internship with Diageo and was offered a role on the Bulleit Blending Team. Her work ethic led her to proactively seek out career development opportunities to grow including occasionally coming to the lab on a weekend to ensure that the product being made remained consistent.

 

She came up with the idea of expanding the product line with a new blend and mentioned this to her boss. To Eboni’s surprise, her boss not only supported the idea but gave her two months to prepare for a formal pitch. Like many high achievers, she admitted to sometimes falling prey to the “Impostor Syndrome” (i.e. feelings of self-doubt) but was quick to cite the supportive culture of the company and specifically her immediate boss and team members.

 

Eboni’s blend, formally named Bulleit Blender’s Select No. 001, debuted March 2020. It uses three out of 10 whiskeys from their flagship product. Aged for a minimum of nine years with an ABV of 50% and fully matured in new American white oak barrels flamed to a #4 char with the barrel head flamed to a #2 char. Official tasting notes define it as having a “medium-amber appearance; nose of vanilla bean, honey, and dried fruit; rich and fruit-forward with tones of toasted oak taste; smooth, balanced finish with a lingering of sweet cream and fruit wine decadence."

 

My inner whisk(e)y geek thoroughly enjoyed her detailed slides of the making of their whiskey and facts such as their blending season lasting from March to June. Eboni emphasized how Blenders do not simply wait for the distillates to be given to them to blend, but instead are involved in the entire process with other team members from grain and yeast planning all the way to blend formulation. She spoke of mash bills, used terms like “grumpy yeast” and “phenolic,” and whipped out a maturation graph.

 

On a typical day, Eboni doesn’t wear anything perfumed, has a nondescript breakfast of a hard-boiled egg, and perhaps an orange peeled for her by a colleague, followed by a nondescript lunch, like a plain salad.  She waits to indulge in more “flavorful” meals at dinner time. Her meticulous routine has trained her to know things like during fermentation if she smells juicy fruit or banana bread, all is well.

 

She's aware that even in 2020, people meeting her are still surprised (in a good way) to find out that she is a blender. Most people still picture an older Caucasian gentleman in her role. She's delighted when people randomly find it on a shelf and, after buying it, learn it was made by a woman.