Master distiller Lisa Wicker may have taken an unconventional path through her career, shifting from wine to distilled spirits, but that’s hardly the only decision she’s made that some might deem unusual. For Wicker, spreading out and exploring adjacent but interesting fields has improved her approach to distilling and blending much more than intense focus could. Now, she pulls on all that background to hone fermentations with atypical grains, tighten distillations, and blend with identifiable character in mind.
In this episode’s conversation with Sydney Jones, Wicker discusses:
Cold mashing corn for more characterful distillation
Using malted rye and barley
Testing heirloom corn varieties for distilling potential
Lessons learned from winemaking
Building through notes in whiskey brands for flavor identities
Blending with partial barrels to achieve flavor balance
Blending strategies to soften the edges of younger, wilder whiskies
And more.
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