Julie Roberts: We need to change the narrative of women in whisky
Brand innovation manager for The Artisanal Spirits Company, Julie Roberts came to the whisky industry through a love of communication. She wants to change perceptions of women working in whisky and help people know more about the power of the female palate.
Julie Roberts loves a good brand experience. “If you work in the spirits category, it is always all about eating and drinking experiences,” she explains. “I’m mostly, you know, in supermarkets, taking pictures of brands. It’s really sad.”
It’s not when your job is brand innovation manager for The Artisanal Spirits Company, a role Roberts has held since January 2023. One of the brands she looks after is the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) - a whisky membership organisation which has been running for over 50 years and allows Roberts to work with ‘exceptional product’.
Roberts has worked in marketing her whole life. She wanted to be in the communications industry from a young age and studied Marketing Communications at Queen Margaret University, before turning her hand to agency work, focusing mainly on FMCG products.
Challenging stereotypes: Roberts is keen to challenge perceptions that whisky is an old man's club
During her time at an agency in Edinburgh, she began to work with some of the biggest names in Scotch whisky: The Macallan, Highland Park and Famous Grouse to name a few. “I worked on their personalisation, and some of their famous campaigns, and I just found them to be really fascinating brands to work for.”
Being Scottish, Roberts also felt a kind of affinity to whisky, and it wasn’t long until she found herself client-side at one of whisky’s behemoths, Diageo, as brand innovation manager. “I was working there as part of the rare and exceptional team, on a programme called Casks of Distinction. These were sales in six-figure sums going to high net-worth individuals. It was so different to anything I had done before.”
Fresh starts
A year later, however, and the same role at SMWS came up. Roberts decided it was time for a fresh start.
“I've always admired SMWS and what they stood for,” she explained of the draw, “particularly the sort of uniqueness around flavour and the journey of discovery. So that's why I decided to come here.”
As business innovation manager, Roberts gets to work across many aspects of SMWS. Working alongside the likes of whisky director Kai Ivalo and head of whisky creation Euan Campbell, Roberts’ role is split across things like special releases, new product releases, monthly subscription drops and overarchingly NPD.
She also has to be streamlined across the entire supply chain, from spirit to finance, marketing and digital. Delivering something new to the consumer is always at the front of mind: “The whisky industry relies on innovation. From a consumer point of view you need to constantly be bringing something new to your target client or demographic.”
Christmas on the Beach: The one of five is part of a range released to celebrate International Women’s Day 2024
Working with and tasting whisky has also been a personal journey of discovery for Roberts. “It never ceases to amaze me, whisky. One minute you're tasting this real fruity Sherry bomb, then all of a sudden your next dram is slightly peated and it's the complete opposite end of the spectrum. You're lucky sometimes to call it a job.”
Seeing is believing
Another reason Roberts was keen to join the team at SMWS was because of the significant number of women working there at director level. Her manager Anne Philips, marketing director, being one of them: “She is whisky through and through, and an incredible person to work with. She's so knowledgeable and wants to share her knowledge and bring you in.” Women also hold the top roles in the experience, digital and content teams too.
Girl power: The anonymous, all-female tasting panel at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society
When it came to selecting a whisky for this year’s Demeter Collection, the OurWhisky Foundation’s upcoming fundraising auction in collaboration with Whisky Auctioneer, Roberts chose whiskies that have been selected by an all-female tasting panel. “Getting that message out about the difference between tasting with men and women is quite profound, and I think it's good to share that message with people, bring them in, and challenge those perceptions that whisky is an old man's club.”
The Demeter Collection
Christmas on the Beach is a limited edition whisky that formed part of a global collection of five bottlings exclusively released to SMWS members on International Women's day 2024 (with a percentage of profits donated to the OurWhisky Foundation).
Each of the whiskies in the collection were carefully selected by the all-female tasting panel during IWD 2023. The five judges hailed from five different countries and are fully qualified and experienced SMWS panelists.
A 2005 vintage, Christmas on the Beach is an 18-year-old Speyside single malt matured in a Bourbon hogshead for 15 years, before being transferred to a first-fill American oak oloroso hogshead. The full outturn comprised just 252 bottles.
For Roberts, a mentee on the OurWhisky Foundation mentorship programme, contributing to the auction will help platform the work the Foundation is doing for women in the the global whisky industry. “We want to support OurWhisky to help provide the platform that we need to change the conversation around women working in or drinking whisky.”
The Demeter Collection auction will run 29 March - 8 April 2024 at whiskyauctioneer.com.
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