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HBCU GRAD, ONE OF FIRST BLACK WOMEN WHISKEY BLENDERS IN U.S. RELEASES HER OWN BOURBON

Stacy Jackson January 10 2023

This Black whiskey blender faced racial discrimination at her previous company, leading her towards a mission to make change in the whiskey industry.

After parting ways with the Bulleit distillery in Shelbyville, KY, where she spent several years blending and creating, Alabama A&M University alumna, Eboni Major, one of the first Black female whiskey blenders in the U.S., has released her own bourbon and is building her own company.

According to Robb Report, Major has released her first whiskey since she left Bulleit Bourbon after filing a lawsuit in spring 2022 against parent company Diageo.

As previously reported by BLACK ENTERPRISE, Major filed the lawsuit, alleging unlawful discrimination, disparate treatment, and retaliation.

Major had just released the award-winning Bulleit Blenders’ Select that she produced at the company. However, her new whiskey, the Dread River Master Series, has been produced with Dread River Distilling Co.

Imbibe Magazine reported that Major’s experiences have led her to build her own company, Major Spirits. Although the company is in its early stages, she has committed to amplifying inclusion and equity.

“I want to be able to nurture talent and inspire people and give them tools for whatever success they need,” the Birmingham, AL native said.

Major said she has been approached by Black women students from her alma mater seeking advice on how to break into the whiskey industry.

“[I remember] what it’s like to be in their shoes and to want to enter something but not know how,” Major said. “Making sure that I bring those women along my journey to build Major Spirits is probably the most important thing to me. Not to say, ‘Okay, in three years I’ll come back and I’ll help you out.’ No—I have to take the time now.”

As Major moves along with plans for her company, she has developed a partnership with blender and distiller, Marianne Eaves, where she will be serving as creative director of whiskey company Eaves Blind.

Major has also been named as one of Imbibe Magazine’s 75 People to Watch in 2023.

Reportedly, the lawsuit against Diageo was dismissed and the dispute has been moved to arbitration.

The new, extremely limited, Dread River Master Series whiskey is available now to preorder for $115. < https://www.dreadriver.com/shop >  

ARTICLE URL
https://www.blackenterprise.com/alabama-am-grad-one-of-the-first-black-women-whiskey-blenders-in-the-u-s-releases-bourbon/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter_01/10/2023

PHOTO: Cary Norton

Imbibe 75 Person to Watch: Eboni Major
STORY: Susannah Skiver Barton

December 30, 2022

Stirring the pot was never Eboni Major’s intention. One of just a handful of Black women working in American whiskey, she spent several years at the Bulleit distillery in Shelbyville, Kentucky, blending a range of products and creating the awarded Bulleit Blenders’ Select. But in a lawsuit filed in the spring of 2022, Major alleged pay discrimination and racially biased treatment during her tenure there. (The suit was dismissed and the dispute has been moved to arbitration.) She hoped that publicly sharing her experience as a Black whiskey maker might bring about change.

Now, Major is making the change herself, building her own company, Major Spirits, that has inclusion and equity baked in from the start. “I want to be able to nurture talent and inspire people and give them tools for whatever success they need,” she says, adding that Black women students from her alma mater, Alabama A&M, have approached her seeking advice on how to get into the whiskey industry. “[I remember] what it’s like to be in their shoes and to want to enter something but not know how,” Major says. “Making sure that I bring those women along my journey to build Major Spirits is probably the most important thing to me. Not to say, ‘Okay, in three years I’ll come back and I’ll help you out.’ No—I have to take the time now.”

The company is in the early stages as Major creates a brand strategy and seeks funding; simultaneously, she has partnered with blender and distiller Marianne Eaves to serve as creative director of whiskey company Eaves Blind. She intends to create whiskey, of course, and other spirits as well, though she says, “You’ll probably never see me do a vodka.”

Her first post-Bulleit bourbon, a collaboration with Birmingham distillery Dread River, came out in late 2022. For Major, taking time to develop and launch her company ensures its integrity. “Building a brand isn’t about getting on the shelf,” she says. “It’s about getting it right.”

SUSANNAH SKIVER BARTON
A veteran journalist and seasoned critic, Susannah Skiver Barton writes about whisky and spirits from around the world. She is a certified spirits specialist and recipient of the 2020 Alan Lodge Young International Drinks Writer Award.
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I was interested in the affordable rum but the village bought that up quick. 

ARTICLE URL
https://imbibemagazine.com/imbibe-75-person-to-watch-eboni-major/