The Distillers Lectures is a series of live events from the Distillers Journal. The half day lectures give a platform to six speakers to inspire change, generate discussion and share Distilling expertise.
The lectures are hosted four times a year cross the UK and Ireland.
Full details of each lecture will be released in the run up to the day. Scroll down for upcoming events.
LONDON, 20 MARCH 2024
The Venue
Kanpai London Sake Brewery & Taproom
48 Druid St, London SE1 2EZ
The Time
11:30 to 16:00
The Sponsors
BRISTOL, 8 MAY 2024
The Venue
87-89 Park Street,
Bristol
BS1 5PJ
The Time
12:00 – 17:30
The Sponsors
The Speakers
Jim Aitken | Bristol & Bath Rum
Jim manages the home of Dead Man’s Fingers in Bristol where they have a two stills, a rum school and bar all under one roof. He has only been a distiller a year and a half but has spent a lot of that time experimenting with "weird and wonderful ingredients" to aid in the development of their brand and the venue.
Bert Albrecht | Ethimex
Bert Albrecht, the UK Manager for Ethimex Ltd, seamlessly combines his passion and expertise. With a love for aged rum and a background in engineering and chemistry Bert has become a trusted adviser to distillers on the often curious behaviour of ethanol. Years of working closely with export teams has inadvertently transformed him into an expert on sourcing bulk spirits and import regulations.
David Gluckman | Consultant and Author
David Gluckman was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa on 1st November 1938, the day Sea Biscuit and War Admiral fought out the race of the century at Pimlico Park, Baltimore. Educated in Johannesburg, he joined a local advertising agency after university and soon fell in love with the business. He made the pilgrimage to London in 1961 and worked as an account executive on Procter & Gamble, Kerrygold, Lyons teas and several Unilever accounts. Always a frustrated copywriter, he escaped into product development in 1969, met a man from IDV and his life changed forever. The author of “That s*it will never sell!” David also helped create Bailey’s Irish Cream. During its time, it has sold billions of bottles across 160 countries with 220 million litres of fresh, Irish cream consumed annually.
Jim Rankin |
Rankin Cork
Since 1774, the Rankin family has been supporting the beers, wines, spirits & foods packaging industries with best in class closures that help seal, protect and add value to brands. They are a family business that have been going to the ends of the earth to support customers with premium products and a high-quality service for six generations. While their business has evolved significantly over time, and they continue to invest heavily in research and innovation, this core mission has remained the same.
Piers Warne |
TLT
Piers Warne is a licensing lawyer at TLT and has 20- plus years’ experience licensing premises for the sale of alcohol and other licensable activities. This includes licensing breweries for direct sales to customers, online sales and for tap rooms. He has acted on the licensing around sale and purchase of major breweries and small start-ups across the country and on registrations for AWRS and other relevant certificates.
The Speakers
EDINBURGH, JUNE 2024
The Venue
TBC
The Time
TBC
The Sponsors
MANCHESTER, OCTOBER 2024
The Venue
TBC
The Time
TBC
The Sponsors
BECOME A SPEAKER
The Distillers Lectures are built on giving professionals from in-and-around the world of spirits a platform to share their knowledge, expertise and experiences.
You might have grown and expanded your distillery, undertaken a successful rebrand, or built a fantastic team of talented individuals.
You might have some best-practice tips for aging, effective ideas on yeast pitching or wise words on water treatment.
The Distillers Lectures are designed to enable knowledge-sharing and to help ensure we create a better industry as a result. Do you have a burning idea or talk topic you want to share with the world? Then get in touch with our editor Tim Sheahan at tim@reby.media and we can hopefully have you take part in one of our future events!