Alex Castle

Envy Management

In fourth grade, Alex Castle tagged along with her parents on a bourbon tour of the scenic, historic grounds of Maker’s Mark Distillery. Her first encounter with bourbon mash was less than favorable. “I thought it smelled bad,” recalls Alex, “and I thought the bourbon chocolate pieces tasted funny.” Personable and petite, with a pixie haircut and sweet smile, Castle looks like your best friend’s adorable kid sister. But with her well-trained palate and razor-sharp wit, Alex has made herself into a phenom within the bourbon universe; acquiring, and then abandoning, a handful of what aficionados might think of as dream jobs, while working closely with whiskey legends Jimmy Russell and Pierce Lyons along the way.

Born and raised in the greater Florence, Kentucky area, Castle wanted from an early age to be a marine biologist. Then in high school, she took her first real biology class but was dismayed to find that she despised life science. So, determined and hard-working, Castle shifted her focus toward calculus, chemistry, and physics and ended up at the University of Kentucky a chemical engineering major. “The only problem was, I really didn’t know what to do with that,” said Castle. As luck would have it, her mother (who ironically didn’t drink), suggested that Alex consider either beer-brewing or whiskey-making.  It just so happened that Pierce Lyons at Alltech was looking for assistance with his bourbon-barrel beer. Little did she know, Lyons already had in the works the renderings for an onsite bourbon distillery, and Castle helped fill the first 100 or so barrels of what later would become Town Branch bourbon.

After graduating, Castle took a job as a production supervisor for Wild Turkey, a position she held for 4 years. “It was overwhelming”, Castle recalls, “they had just commissioned their new facility which was 100% automated, and we were still resolving kinks. I was working 12-hour shifts 6 days a week and there was a lot of pressure. But at the same time, it was phenomenal.” Wild Turkey’s parent company, Campari, also allowed Castle to have input on other spirits such as Cabo Wabo tequila, SKYY vodka, and other products. “It was great experience. It was exactly what I wanted to do, so it wasn’t work at all”, said Castle. Of the incomparable Jimmy Russell, Castle admits, “I loved listening to his stories, but I liked production and Jimmy and Eddie are all about the aging.”

In 2015, Castle made the decision to go to Old Dominick Distillery in Memphis. At Old Dominick, Castle immersed herself in the culture and history of Memphis and of Tennessee Whiskey. She helped to craft not just the liquid, but developed the logo, label and building design. During her nine years at Old Dominick, Castle became the first female master distiller in Tennessee and served as the president of the Tennessee Distiller’s Guild. However, perhaps the two most important things that Castle says she learned at OD were her insistence on a level #4 char and a proof of at least 100. “I am a cocktail drinker”, says Castle, “and I like to taste the whiskey in my drink”.

In 2024, Castle became the Director of Distillery Operations at Augusta Distillery back in her home state of Kentucky. At Augusta, Castle oversees a Buckner’s line of 10-year-old that was a double gold winner, and a 13-year old that was voted 2023’s best bourbon at San Francisco. About leaving Memphis and moving to Augusta, Castle admits, “Yeah, it surprised a few people. Memphis is still home, I am a Memphian, but it felt like time to find a new challenge. I was ready to take another leap. Augusta just felt right, and it’s a nice cherry on top that I am now close to my family back in northern Kentucky”.

 Contributed by: Tracy McLemore, Fairview, Tennessee

with support from M. J. (Michael) Jacobs, Tennessee Whiskey Section Editor, Smyrna, Tennessee