Ahead of International Women’s Day, we celebrate three female Master Blenders, whose knowledge, expertise, experience, attention to detail and, well, noses have made them veritable celebrities in the world of scotch. The second of our three-part series features Stephanie MacLeod, Master Blender for Dewar’s.
- Stephanie McLeod holds the distinct honour of being the first woman to win International Whisky Competition’s coveted Master Blender of the Year back in 2019. Just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, she won it again in 2020 and then in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
McLeod was a scientist after graduating from the University of Strathclyde in Food Science. Back then, she had no understanding or appreciation of Scotch whisky. It was when she returned to University as a Research Assistant and started working with a team of chemists and sensory analysts on the flavour of Scotch whisky, that began to understand the subtle nuances and the impact of distillation and maturation on the flavour profile. This decision has shaped the industry for years.
“From that moment on I was hooked; from three ingredients — water, malted barley and yeast — we can produce in Scotland an astounding diversity flavour from our distilleries,” says McLeod. “Some of the flavour we understand its origin, but not all and that is what first attracted me to working in the Whisky industry, and the reason that I’m still working in the whisky industry.”
McLeod began working for Dewar’s in 1998 and became the brand’s seventh Master Blender in its history in 2006 after having studied under the previous Master Blender, Tom Aitken, for three years. She took the job seriously and truly made it her own. “I have always strongly felt the\ weight of responsibility on my shoulders to continue the legacy of this brand, as well as that of Scotch Whisky overall,” says McLeod. “In my role, I’m able to honour our heritage by building on all the great advancements that came before me. A quote I live by is by Gustav Mahler: ‘Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.’”
We spoke to her after her triumph at the 2023 International Whisky Competition, in which she won Master Blender of the Year again for the fifth year running.
She was introspective about her triumph, saying, “I accept the award on behalf of the whole Scotch whisky team and all of the people who I work with to create awardwinning whisky. As Master Blender, the ultimate accountability for the quality and consistency of our whiskies lies with me. But I have a wider team of blenders and assistants who work hand-in-hand with me every day, as well as countless whiskymakers across the industry, nurturing our whisky from whisky stills to cask to bottle.”
In 2023, Dewar’s swept the blended scotch categories in the International Whisky Competition, along with McLeod’s triumph as Master Blender of the Year. It is testament to her mastery in her role. When we asked her what her secret was, she replied with that trademark humility. “A spirit of experimentation has always been core to the brand since it was founded. It was our first Master Blender, A.J. Cameron, who pioneered double ageing in the 1890s, a process we still hold true to today. For me, it’s about making sure that my team and I have the space to be creative and try new things. Making whisky is part science and part art — creativity is inherent to the process. That spirit of innovation is what led us to some of our most awarded whiskies in recent years.”
But it’s more than just that to her. McLeod added, “We don’t just look at creating new whiskies, we look at how we can improve our existing whiskies too. We took Dewar’s 12 Year Old to the next level through a small change in the process — swapping out inert casks in the final stage, with first-fill American Oak Bourbon casks.That change had a radical change on the flavour, augmenting the existing flavour notes and creating a richer mouthfeel. We took a great whisky and made it even better.”
