The Woman Who Gives Appleton Estate Rum Its Good Taste
If you had to guess whom was the artist behind the Appleton rum blend, you might not guess a fiftysomething woman, right? I wouldn’t. But we’d both be wrong.
Meet Joy Spence, Master Blender and former high school chemistry teacher, who’s currently on tour where the water drains a different way. She’s breaking barriers with every tasty sip, as she describes in a New Zealand Herald interview published today.
How did you become a master rum blender?
I joined the company as a chemist, and had to work very closely with the master blender - who looks at the sensory side of blending - and I had to look at the chemical process. I became very fascinated with the whole idea so I went into training for 17 years, then took over the role of master blender when he retired.
So you don’t just chuck some Bacardi in with the Captain Morgan and see what comes out?
Ah, no.
[...]
Is the position of master blender an unusual one for a woman?
Very strange. It’s a male-dominated profession. I’m the first female in this industry to be a master blender. I am proud. And I didn’t have much difficulty being accepted because they knew me as a chemist and I was being tutored by the master blender. I thought I would be in a lab with beakers and test-tubes, not doing this.
More here. Read Mrs. Spence’s bio at Appleton Estate. Also worthwhile is this previous brief interview.
