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Top 10
Influential spirits industry couples
We pinned down some of the most celebrated couples in the spirits industry to get their take on the trials and tribulations of working with a romantic partner.
Some of the spirits industry’s most celebrated couples share their experiences
Much like a relationship, forging a career in the spirits industry takes patience, dedication and most of all, teamwork.
But what happens when the two worlds are connected?
From distillery founders and bar owners, to drinks consultancy experts and whisky bloggers, nine industry couples explain how their businesses came to be – and why they wouldn’t change their setup for the world.
Click through the following pages to see our selection of some of the industry’s most influential couples.
Forest Gin, UK
Karl and Lindsay Bond, founders of Forest Gin
Karl said: “This started as a hobby with me making spirits in our spare room. It was only when Lindsay got involved with the wild berries and flowers that she’d been picking with our daughter that Forest Gin came about.
“These days, Lindsay distils pretty much all of the gin, with me operating the business side of things. Hattie is still out and about foraging for the ingredients, so it all works well as a family. We love working together as a couple, but we still need Hattie to keep us in check once in a while”
“We try to avoid official job titles, so generally refer to ourselves as Harriet Bond, the boss; Karl and Lindsay Bond, weasels number #1 and #2.”
Koval Distillery, US
Sonat and Robert Birnecker, founders of Koval Distillery
Sonat said: “One of the reasons we created Koval Distillery was so that we could work together. We feel we have complimentary strengths and are good at working toward the same goals in our own way. We obviously enjoy each other’s company, but we also enjoy building our company together, it is another dimension of our relationship and a lot of fun. It works extremely well for us.
“Before Koval, I was a tenured professor and Robert was the deputy press secretary for the Austrian Embassy. We started to house hunt and began to question settling down in the DC area. We were not sure we wanted to be there and thought about moving to Chicago. After one house too many that needed a little too much love we decided to move in with my parents in Chicago and invest our money in a pot still from Germany; starting the first distillery in the city since the mid-1800s.
“We wanted to live in a city we loved and work together as a family doing something of high quality. We never looked back.”
Cambridge Distillery, UK
William Lowe, master distiller and Lucy Lowe, director of Cambridge Distillery
Will said: “She may say otherwise, but I think it’s great working with my wife. We’re not just sharing an office together – our business is an enormous part of our lives and it develops and evolves in different ways every day. I can’t image it would be nearly as much fun if we didn’t get to share that with each other.
“When we started out, I already had around 15 years’ experience in the wine and spirits trade, and Lucy was a business development professional for Cambridge University.
“Our business grew very quickly, literally going from our kitchen table to the tables of the world’s number one restaurant within our first year. It was immediately apparent that it would be all consuming, so we jumped in together with both feet and haven’t looked back since. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Having been together for almost 14 years, we have an intuitive communication, which in no small part has allowed us to be so dynamic in what we do. We’ve now been recognised as producing the world’s most innovative spirits two years in a row, and have come first in every international competition we’ve entered, so it obviously works well!”
St George Spirits, US
Lance Winters, co-owner, president and master distiller and Ellie Winters, co-owner, director of communications and designated driver of St George Spirits
Lance said: “Working with your best friend makes everything bigger. It makes the tough days harder and the good days even better.”
Ellie added: “Given that we’ve worked together for six years now and he’s still the person I most want to have dinner with, I’d say it’s pretty great. That’s not to say that there haven’t been some tough days, but overall, the rewards far outweigh the challenges.
“The distillery has been central to our relationship from the start. We met at the distillery in 2007, had a picnic on the roof as one of our first dates, and got married in front of the stills. Lance just celebrated his 20-year anniversary at St. George, while I didn’t officially come on board until 2010. We now work together seven days a week – but try not to talk shop before coffee!”
Hidden Bar, Ibiza
Chris Edwardes and Amanda Blanch, owners of Hidden bar
Chris said: “My wife and I are very much soul partners and we do everything together, so working together was a logical step forward. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t all sunshine and flowers, however we complement each other perfectly in business as well as life.
“When we met I was managing the bar at the Groucho Club in London, and Amanda was studying interior design. I then went to run the bar at The Pharmacy, followed by the G.E.Club at Conran’s Great Eastern Hotel, and Amanda took on several design commissions. In ’99 we decided to have a little look at a couple of country house hotels on the south coast – none of which where appropriate – so we went home via Brighton.
“We decided to visit a couple of estate agents and found what was to become [boutique hotel] Blanch House. At this point it was just a pipe dream, but we decided to put in an offer. After it was accepted we came up with the name, the logo and the concept on the journey home, and the rest is history.”
Whisky For Everyone, UK
Matt Chambers and Karen Taylor, creators of whisky website, Whisky For Everyone
Matt said: “Writing for and promoting Whisky For Everyone is a passion for both of us, and that keeps our working relationship strong. We started blogging nearly eight years ago when one of us nagged the other to start writing (can you guess who was nagging who?) and working together means that we challenge each other and keep expecting as much from the other person as from ourselves.
“We both have full time jobs in sales and marketing in the drinks industry, so that allows us both to learn and develop individually while letting Whisky For Everyone reap the rewards. It means that we have a means of escape when we disagree on topics which, of course, happens in any partnership.”
Greenbar Craft Distillery, US
Melkon Khosrovian and Litty Mathew, founders of Greenbar Craft Distillery
Litty said: “Melkon and I have known each other more than half our lives. We met on the first day of grad school. He spilled his coffee and I was the first person to help him clean it up, and that hasn’t changed much!
“Greenbar Distillery started out of love. His side of the family, from the former Soviet Union, drink lots of high proof spirits and brandies. When we first got engaged, we were invited to many meals where someone would get up and say an elaborate toast to the new couple. I hated the stuff they served because of the intense burn and fusel aromas – I called it nail polish remover cut with jet fuel.
“Melkon wanted me to join in the family festivities so he set out to make a spirit I would enjoy. He watched the way I cooked and started making complex spirits infusions using store bought vodka and a culinary approach. We’d take it to the family events and everyone loved them. Soon friends of family were asking us to make infusions for their parties.
“Pretty soon, we knew we had to go into business… Or get the phone number unlisted. We did the former. That was almost 12 years ago! Now we make the largest portfolio of organic spirits in the world all because my husband wanted to get me drunk. Awh!”
Rademon Distillery, Northern Ireland
David and Fiona Boyd-Armstrong, founders of Rademon Distillery
David said: “It was Fiona’s idea to start a distillery, having spent years travelling with work and being away from home, we both wanted to settle and start our own business. We ordered our bespoke copper still in 2013 and have never looked back.
“We’re both so passionate about the distilling industry and really drive each other and we share great ambitions for Rademon Estate Distillery.”
Fiona added: “Having always wanted to build a distillery at Rademon Estate and following three years of research, we launched Shortcross Gin in 2014. Bringing our dream to reality has been hard work, but when someone asks for a Shortcross Gin in a bar or retailer we can’t help but feel proud.
“This is only the start of our distilling journey and we expect the road to be long and bumpy but will enjoy every moment. After all, David is the gin to my tonic.”
Mixellany Limited, UK
Jared Brown and Anistatia Miller, co-directors of Mixellany Limited
Anistatia said: “If you actually like someone, working with that person is the only way you’ll ever get to spend time with them. In the drinks industry, you’d better work with your loved one or find someone with a lot of patience. Otherwise you’re going to get endlessly badgered to get a nine-to-five job.”
Jared added: “‘You can’t open a bottle of wine!’ Those were Anistatia’s first words to me when I showed up at her door on 17 December 1991, hired to assist her throwing a large Christmas party in her Greenwich Village loft.
“She shook her head in disbelief as she stared at the cast on my left hand. ‘I just cooked lunch for 100 people,’ I replied.
“I was working in a midtown members’ club, but I was also a starving hotel school student at the time. I needed all the work I could get. By the next night, I think it occurred to us that we were going to end up together. We talked about getting married.
“We were married around a month later.”