Nicole Austin

Many people look back at their life and are hit with the reality that what they are doing was never what they had intended to do. When Nicole Austin was growing up in Syracuse, New York, her mind never took her to Cascade Hollow and her award-winning George Dickel whiskeys. Quite the contrary, Nicole always to be an artist or musician. Only problem was, her talents didn’t lie in these fields.  So, a different path found her.

She had an inauspicious beginning into the industry that would bring her into our homes, restaurants, and bars. She began her quest towards whiskey by graduating from Manhattan College in 2006 with a Chemical Engineering Degree. So, naturally being this smart led her to our industry and success!! Well, not exactly, at least right away. Her path first took her down a different …..path.

That path went down into the New York City sewer system! She worked as an Environmental engineer making clean water. Her “AHA moment” happened when a date took her to a bourbon bar, where she spent her evening talking to her date, right? No, the bartender.

This eventually led to her finding the beginning of her path in 2010 at Kings County Distillery in Brooklyn, New York She spent 6 years there learning the industry and getting recognized for her abilities. She worked as a Master Blender there, served as President of the New York State Distillers Guild and several chairs with the American Craft Spirits Association of America. 

These experiences where invaluable as it led her to a position at Oak View Distilling in 2012. She was hired there by Dave Pickerell and she has stated that, “he taught me a lot.” She served as Project Engineer for 3 years, all the while serving on the aforementioned boards and still with Kings County too! Busy lady!

This took her to an opportunity overseas. In late 2016, she took a position with Tullamore Dew in Ireland. She stayed there for nearly 2 years before returning State-side and her current position with Diageo’s George Dickel at Cascade Hollow.

Nicole began at George Dickel in 2018 as the General Manager and Distiller. She doesn’t like the job title of “Master Distiller” stating, “I have a real job, not just hand shaking. Plus, I feel too young for that.” Indeed, she is only 38, but she has enjoyed monumental success at George Dickel. She has been vital to the significant success of several George Dickel brands, including the launching of the Cascade Moon Whisky series, George Dickel Bourbon and George Dickel Bottled in Bond.

George Dickel Bourbon came in 5th in Whiskey of 2021 by Whisky Advocate and George Dickel Bottled in Bond being the magazines “Whisky of the Year” in 2019. Nicole was also awarded “Distiller of the Year” by Artisan Spirit magazine in 2020 and earned the “Distillery Manager” award from Icons of Whiskey in 2021.

Her path is not finished in the whiskey world and we all are very excited to see what is next for Nicole!

Contributed by: M. J. Jacobs, Knoxville, Tennessee