Meet the mentee: Rebecca Kean, InchDairnie Distillery
In August 2024, Rebecca Kean joined InchDairnie Distillery as its assistant distillery manager. She explains her family ties to whisky, how the OurWhisky Mentorship Programme helped her find her support system, and what you can learn when you least expect it.
OWF: How are you doing? What’s new?
RK: I have new job! As of August 2024 I am the assistant distillery manager at InchDairnie Distillery. This is an amazing opportunity for my growth and development with such a wonderful company. I am really excited for the future of the distillery and my role within it.
OWF: Can you explain what your role entails and what you’re currently working on?
RK: Within my role I am responsible for monitoring the efficiency of production while also planning developments and changes that will ensure we are running the plant the best way possible while always maintaining excellent spirit quality. I work with the rest of the senior management team on distillery development and projects where we keep focus on sustainability goals and company aims.
I am still new to my role, so at the moment my focus is on learning the process and the different campaigns we run. I am also getting to know the team and their roles within the distillery. I have some projects lined up towards the end of the year that I am really looking forward to getting started on.
OWF: Tell us a a little bit about your background.
RK: I live just outside of Glasgow and have done so all my life. Growing up, my parents' exact words were that I “was an angel”. I was, and always have been a person who loves to make new friends and be sociable – I thrive on being surrounded by others. I would also say that I always worked hard and strived for perfection, which often led to me being a bit hard on myself. Outside of work my current interests are planning my wedding, spending time with my family and friends, and getting into arts and crafts.
OWF: What were your thoughts on your future career when you were growing up?
RK: Growing up, I knew I always wanted to be successful in my career, I just wasn’t really sure what I would be doing. When it came to applying for university I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. My favourite subjects at school were maths, chemistry and physics, so when speaking to my pupil support teacher she suggested I look into chemical engineering. Reading into the course, it was absolutely perfect for me and was everything I wanted to study. After five years at Strathclyde University I graduated with a First Class Masters degree in Engineering thinking I would enter into renewable energies or the oil and gas industry. However, I felt that a job in the whisky industry was calling my name.
Memories to management: Kean has turned her family's love of whisky into a career
OWF: When did your love of whisky begin and why?
RK: From a young age whisky had always been present in my life – all the men in my family and my granny drank it. But I think my Grandpa Kean was the one who got me really interested. I always remember his small whisky collection being in the sitting room in their house, but what fascinated me was that he had ‘his own’ whisky. He had owned a cask at Lochranza Distillery on the Isle of Arran and had it bottled.
He would point to a bottle on the shelf and tell me that was my bottle and I would get it on my wedding day. I remember thinking that seemed so silly because it smelled disgusting and it was such a long time away. However, every now and then as I got older, I would pull the bottle down and give it a smell to see if anything had changed. (I, of course, used to smell my brother's bottle as well just in case it happened to be better.) I'm so grateful to have that bottle. I hope that on my wedding day it doesn't disappoint.
In my adult life, my love for whisky came when I did a summer internship with Falkirk Distillery in 2021. This is where I got very hands on with the production process and learned of the effort and skill that goes into making whisky, I found something so romantic about it. At that time I didn’t particularly like whisky, but I swore from then on I would make an effort to enjoy whisky and try anything that I saw. Since then, my fiance and I have worked hard at trying a new whisky anytime we can.
OWF: Why did you apply for the OurWhisky Foundation Mentorship Programme?
RK: I was fairly new to the industry and didn’t have a large whisky network, let alone know many women that worked in the industry. I also had ambitions for where I wanted my career to go in the industry, but had no idea how I would get there. Working for a smaller company, the pathway wasn't clear. Being in the Foundation was the best step in expanding my network to include like-minded women, as well as create a clearer plan in getting to my final goal.
OWF: What were the biggest challenges for you in progressing?
RK: Not knowing how to forge or having a clear path of progression. I also lacked the confidence in putting myself out there, I felt I was too inexperienced to move forward.
OWF: How did you work with your mentor to overcome these?
RK: My mentor was the fantastic Alan Winchester (former master distiller of The Glenlivet). We spent a lot of time in the first few weeks just chatting whisky, and he shared such a wide depth of his knowledge with me and made me feel so comfortable in showing my knowledge and speaking to him about things I wasn't sure of. He encouraged me to speak through problems I was facing and how I would fix them before giving his opinion and views. This built on my confidence and diminished some of the imposter syndrome I was feeling.
Alan encouraged me to apply for jobs, especially ones I didn't think I was qualified for. He said this would give me a better idea of what companies’ expectations were as well as application and interview experience. This also helped me view a clearer career path as I could clearly see the expectations that moving up through the industry would entail. Even though my time on the mentorship is finished, Alan and I still keep in contact every few months. I see him not only as a mentor but a good friend.
OWF: When was your first 'a-ha!' moment on the programme?
RK: Working with The Academe on the Power Rooms. It came when we were focusing on our inner saboteurs. This was something I had never really thought about let alone spoke about. However, not only identifying my saboteur but then going into the break-out rooms to speak with my fellow mentees was amazing. It brought us so much closer as I could then identify the mentees to directly speak to when I was struggling who would understand me. It was at this moment I felt that the programme was totally worth it – that was only week one!
OWF: What was your favourite part of the entire Mentorship Programme?
RK: My favourite part of the entire programme was my fellow mentees. We all gelled instantly and no-one was shy about sharing their thoughts and feelings straight from the first meeting. Organising nights out to meet in person was great, but my favourite thing we did was travel to the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival for the weekend. We were attending the OurWhisky Foundation night at the Dowans Hotel, but myself and some of the girls booked an Airbnb for the weekend and went to some of the festival events. We had the best time and had such a laugh.
Experience, empathy and encouragement are what drive Kean's hopes for the future
OWF: How has this experience changed how you feel about being a woman in this industry?
RK: I feel that I have heard many stories about women's experiences in the industry and the Foundation has shared great research that they have done on the experiences of women. I think that thanks to the work that has been done and to changing mindsets, the industry is moving forward positively. I feel comfortable being a woman in this industry and hope I can only contribute to continual positive changes and development of women in whisky.
OWF: How has this programme empowered you to empower others?
RK: I know that one day I want to be a mentor in this programme. I want to encourage other women like me to just go for it and have confidence in themselves. I love speaking to people and sharing my experiences, trying to relate to them the best I can. I want to encourage them not to feel how I did and take the leap. Recognise your strengths and weaknesses and use these to your advantage.
OWF: What advice would you give someone applying for or starting the programme?
RK: Make sure you have a clear goal in mind that you want to achieve and make sure you communicate it to your mentor straight away. The six months go by so quickly so ensure you are using every moment to your advantage. Most importantly though, just enjoy it and make sure you attend all the workshops. There were ones I didn’t think would be relevant to me but these ended up being some of the best and helped give me an insight into other areas of the industry.
OWF: What are your hopes for the future for women working in whisky?
RK: That programmes like this no longer need to exist because there is no difference between being a man or a woman in whisky. I hope to see more women coming into whisky in all areas of the industry and receiving support and encouragement no matter the size of the company.
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