With a Bachelor's in Marketing Management from Wayne State University, Jennifer began working as the marketing director for Versatrans and Luca Mariano Distillery in January 2019. When she initially started, she was responsible for writing website content, organizing consumer sampling events in Michigan and Kentucky, and managing all sales in those states as well as in Tennessee and North Carolina. She now oversees the company's marketing budget, plans and executes promotional campaigns, manages and improves lead generation efforts, and measures results. Her daily activities include designing the company's marketing strategy under company objectives. With her refined palate, she has grown into the role of Master Blender in April 2022 at Luca Mariana Distillery. 

Can you tell us a little about yourself? How did you get into the Alco-Bev industry?

I am Jennifer Brandt, the Master Blender and Marketing Director for Luca Mariano Distillery. I started with Luca Mariano Distillery after graduating from Wayne State University in May 2019. With my refined palate, I have grown into the role of Master Blender, shaped the single barrel select program, and love the opportunity to supply enthusiasts with the highest quality small batch bourbon and rye, as well as single barrel bourbon and rye. When I’m not mixing up a good time, you can find me as the face of our social media. You’ll quickly come to learn that Rye Whiskey is my favorite, and I will try to convince you to enjoy it as well!

As a Marketing Director and Master Blender, what does your day look like at Luca Mariano Distillery? What do you like the most about your job?

As the Marketing Director and Master Blender for Luca Mariano Distillery, my day differs from day to day. Some days I go from meeting to meeting with our distributors. Other days are full of podcasts, social media campaigns, festivals, tastings, and the occasional bottling. My favorite days are when I am tasting 20+ barrels to make the perfect blend for our Old Americana Small Batch Bourbon and Rye and to pull any special barrels for our Single Barrel Select Program. 

Luca Mariano Distillery

Tell us more about Luca Mariano Distillery. What are some of your best-selling spirits?

Luca Mariano Distillery is a craft distillery based out of Danville, KY. In 2010, Francesco S. Viola began distilling spirits as a hobby in his garage with mash bills of his own creation and traditional family mash bills. He later decided that creating great bourbon and whiskey was more than a hobby. In 2013, Luca Mariano Distillery was officially licensed. In 2019, we launched the bourbon that started it all, the Old Americana Small Batch Bourbon. The love of distilling continued to grow along with Luca Mariano's variety of bourbon and rye whiskey offerings. Our best-selling products would be our Luca Mariano Single Barrel Bourbon and Luca Mariano Single Barrel Rye, both are 7 years old and 103 proof! 

What encouraged you to take up the role of Master Blender? What challenges did you experience when you first started?

Honestly, it all happened by happenstance. When I initially started with Luca Mariano Distillery, I could not stand the smell, let alone the taste of whiskey. For my first few months with the company, I strictly drank fruity mixed drinks with our bourbon and slowly increased the amount of bourbon in the drink to get me to the point where I can enjoy it straight. After I got to the point of enjoying whiskey straight, I started working on refining my palette to pinpoint tasting notes truly. In doing so, I ended up with one of the better palettes in our company and had the chance to prove myself with the barrels I was selecting for our Single Barrel Select Program. After a year of running that program, we decided to put my skills to the test by blending my first batch of bourbon. The big challenge I had when I first started my role had to do with being a young female in an industry that is predominantly known for men. I often get asked, “What do you know about whiskey, you're just a young female meant to be a pretty face for the company?”

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According to you, what’s the most important skill a Master Blender can have?

The obvious answer to this question seems like it would be a tasting palate, but in my opinion, it is confidence. When you are putting something out there for thousands of people to enjoy, you must be confident in your skillset that what you are producing is truly good. If you are second-guessing your decision on the final blend, then you will have a haunting feeling about what you released, and it will play games with your head during your next blending session. It is important to remember that you are in the position that you are for a reason because people trust your skillset, opinion, and ability to do your job.

As a Marketing Director, what creative strategies do you follow to market your brand in a new market? 

As Marketing Director, we have a few creative strategies in place to market our brand in new markets. The first strategy we use is having one of our brand representatives spend a week in the market with our salespeople from the distributor launching our products in that state. Another strategy we use is presentations with whiskey societies in each of the markets that our products are available in to help reach consumers in the market. Our other unique strategy is we are working on releasing TikTok videos to engage with new consumers through our Ask Me Anything series, Cooking with Whiskey series, Cocktail series, and Our Favorite Whiskeys series. 

Which marketing channels drive the most sales and work best to boost brand engagement for your company?

The marketing channel that drives the most sales and works the best to boost brand engagement for our company is media such as podcasts and whiskey YouTube interviews. The podcasts have done are bourbon and whiskey-focused podcasts, and they have led to purchases of our core product line, an increase in social media followers and engagement, and purchases of barrel picks! We’ve done stuff with Bourbon with Friends, Bourbon Lens, The Bourbon Life, Whiskey Weekly, and many others! 

What factors do you keep in mind while deciding on a marketing campaign budget? And how do you ensure marketing costs stay within the budget?

At the beginning of every month, we set our marketing budget for the month that gets used for our different marketing campaigns. The factors that we keep in mind when deciding on a marketing campaign budget are the importance of each campaign if we have any sponsorship fees to pay out for the month, and the number of different marketing campaigns we anticipate for the month. We ensure marketing costs stay within the budget by doing daily analysis and weekly reports on each separate campaign. We also set the sum of all marketing campaigns at the beginning of the month for 10% less than what we have allotted. This gives us cushion room in case anything unforeseen happens.

What do you aim to achieve as a Master blender and Marketing Director at Luca Mariano Distillery?

I have a few things that I aim to achieve as Master Blender and Marketing Director for Luca Mariano Distillery. As Marketing Director, I aim to achieve brand recognition for Luca Mariano Distillery. As Master Blender, I aim to achieve awards for our Old Americana Small Batch Bourbon and Rye through one of the big spirits competitions, such as the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Ascot Awards, or International Wines and Spirits Competition.

What advice would you like to give young entrepreneurs looking to make a mark in this industry? 

The advice that I would give to young entrepreneurs looking to make a mark in the spirits industry is to not let the stereotype of the industry define what you allow yourself to be. Ignore it if someone tells you, you are too young, the wrong sex or just a pretty face to represent the brand. Prove the stereotype wrong and prove to yourself that you can achieve what you want by working hard and focusing on your goals. Don’t let the haters get into your head and break you down. 

Interviewed By Aakriti Rawat, Beverage Trade Network