In His Words: Angel’s Envy Master Distiller, Owen Martin

Nearly two years ago, Owen Martin accepted the master distiller’s job at Louisville Distilling Co., home to Angel’s Envy Bourbon. In multiple conversations with him, he’s made clear that moving to Kentucky was “stepping up to the big leagues” of American distilling. In his six years making American single malt at Stranahan’s Whiskey Distillery in Denver, he learned a lot about blending and cask finishing, skills beneficial for the job in Louisville.

He’d been told the camaraderie among Kentucky distilleries was strong, but he said it’s exceeded all expectations. What’s also impressed him is the access to a wide range of high-quality, affordable finishing casks available through Bacardi, owner of Angel’s Envy. He views these casks as levers to create a variety of new and unique finished cask releases for the brand that started that trend in bourbon.

Following are his words about working in Kentucky and how Angel’s Envy’s first non-finished release, a Bottled-In-Bond, was created.