She Went From Making “Nutcracker” Costumes to Distilling Award-Winning Whiskey — At Age 40
Whiskey Thief's Director of Distilling, Lisa Wicker, shares the winding path that led her to one of bourbon country's hottest new watering holes. Image: Matt Johnson
Lisa Wicker, Director of Distilling at Bardstown’s Whiskey Thief ( just voted North America’s Best Distillery Tour and Best Whisk(e)y Distillery Tour by the World Travel Awards), knows a thing or two about getting her hands dirty, moving out of her comfort zone, and letting fate decide. After graduating from Indiana University with a degree in journalism, she raised three children before her love of the outdoors led her to harvesting grapes at a vineyard. The rest, as they say, is history.
How does a journalism major end up in the spirits industry?
It was wine first. We moved around a lot for my then-husband’s job when my kids were little, and I was piecing together a lot of things. I did some technical writing, and I accidentally started a costuming business when I remade some costumes for my youngest daughter’s dance school. I ran that for six years, but I knew it wasn’t what I was supposed to be doing. I was okay at it, but not great. I needed to be outdoors.
A couple of moms from my daughter’s kindergarten class were working in a winery tasting room and approached me about helping them. So for a couple of years, I was costuming The Nutcracker and harvesting grapes.
I eventually went to work full-time at Brown Country Winery in Nashville, Indiana. Within a couple of days of starting, I thought, “This is what I’m supposed to be doing.” I woke up every day thinking, “What do I need to learn today, and what resources do I have to figure it out?”
How did you make the leap from wine to whiskey?
After a few years at Brown County Winery, I was hired as a consultant for a new winery in Kentucky. I moved right after I dropped my youngest off at college. While I was there, I connected with Steve Beam at Limestone Branch Distillery and was eventually hired to oversee bourbon, moonshine, and brandy-based fermentation, which allowed me to blend winemaking with distilling. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn’t. I love winemaking, but I never loved it as much as I loved distilling.
[The 2010s] was such a crazy time for the industry as a whole. A lot of us grew up in the industry together. Collectively, we were making some really terrible whiskey. We realized things needed to be done differently. I always say that I was there for three years and got six years of experience.
You’ve had a hand in so many distilleries throughout your career, both while on staff and in your work as a consultant. What makes Whiskey Thief stand apart?
Whiskey Thief is just fun. It’s a really fun culture. It’s been a fun year. When I go to work, I remember why I fell in love with the business. I have a small team of just three distillers here, but they are all insanely talented, and I couldn’t be more proud to lead them.
Spirits is an infamously male-dominated industry. How has that affected your approach to your work?
Those of us in the industry joke about this question because we get asked it a lot. We don’t know what it’s like to be men in the industry, you know? The truth is, I like men. Are there some jerks? Yeah, but what industry doesn’t have those? The people in this industry who mentored me and gave me breaks were all men, too. And the bad things that happened — those weren’t the people who really love the industry.
The whiskey guys have always been generous and kind. I’ve found that I naturally seek out mentors and business relationships with men who speak highly and warmly of women — of their partners, their children, their moms. There are a lot of men in this industry who are championing women.
So many women seem to hit their professional stride in their 40s. Why do you think that is?
I’m 66, and I’ve been at this for 27 years. The reality is, many of the laws that allowed for the boom in craft distilling aren’t much more than 10 years old. I get asked all the time if I wish I had started earlier. But if I started earlier, by now I’d be working for one of the “big guys,” and I guess that would be great, but it wouldn’t be what I do now. I didn’t miss out on anything. I couldn’t have had this career any earlier. And I’m not done yet.
Where can we find you after work?
With my kids, when I can be. My daughter and son-in-law are in the restaurant industry and own a couple of places here in Bardstown. My youngest daughter and her family are in Nashville, and my son and his family are in Washington, DC. All three are married to insanely wonderful people, and I have five grandsons.
What is something people are surprised to learn about you?
I’m an avid fly fisherman. My grandson loves it, too, and we go fishing together a lot. When we go out together, he sometimes jokes, “I think my guardian needs a guardian.”
What’s your best piece of advice?
I don’t know that I’m in a place to give any advice, but I recently read the book The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter and took a lot away from it. As human beings, we’re always seeking the most comfortable situation. It’s normal. But when you do that, you take some of the options for yourself off the table. If you don’t take on life’s challenges, you don’t grow.
LIGHTNING ROUND
Close your eyes and reach into your purse. What’s the first thing you grab? Another purse. I carry a big purse with a little purse inside to grab and go.
First stop when you want to impress an out-of-towner? It’s going to sound like nepotism, but Mr. Tub’s. Even if I weren’t related to the owners, I would still love that bar.
What’s your go-to cocktail and where? It’s seasonal. Right now I’m in a streak of whiskey sours. Neat makes a good one. And the Whiskey Thief tasting room in NuLu has two insanely talented bartenders who each made me one recently. I won’t tell them which one is my favorite. I’m taking that one to the grave.
What’s a Louisville restaurant dish you crave? Even though they’ve been gone a while, I still crave Silver Dollar fried oysters.
What’s on your bedside table? Two coasters. Vitamins. A candle. A tray for jewelry. And a copy of John O’Donahue’s poetry that I’ve stuffed with so many things, there is an elastic band around it. I fill it with notes and things I’ve received that inspire me.
This article contains product affiliate links. We may receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links.
**********
Discover more Louisville stories worth sharing. Follow us on Instagram!
Beth Clayton
For over 20 years, Beth Clayton has either been working in a newsroom or pitching one. A natural storyteller and word nerd from the moment she could pick up a pencil, she earned her journalism degree from Butler University and spent the next decade as a writer, reporter, and editor. She now lives in Louisville, KY with her husband, three kids, and a very bad dog, and loves immersing herself in old lady hobbies such as houseplants and macrame.
