A Day in the Life of Conor O’Driscoll, Heaven Hill Distillery Manger & Master Distiller
Introducing “A Day in the Life”
Today we’re excited to introduce another employee Q&A series called A Day in the Life. This series will explore the day to day lives of employees across the company. Our hops is that this series will allow you to gain a better understanding of what your coworkers do for the company and the impact their roles have on the business.
Our first installment of A Day in the Life features several employees who play an important part in the production, distribution, and marketing of our Bourbon products. We asked each person the same set of questions to illustrate the vast differences, but also similarities between each role.
We’re kicking off the series with Conor O’Driscoll, Distillery Manager and Master Distiller who is in charge of producing Heaven Hill’s Bourbon products.
How long have you been a part of the Heaven Hill family?
I joined in January 2019, so not quite two years.
Since this series is titled “A Day in the Life,” tell us a bit about your day-to-day working for Heaven Hill.
I typically get to the distillery around 8 AM. The operation runs 24/7, so everything is normally running full speed when I get there. I check in with the day shift supervisor and catch up on how things are running, then take a walk through the operation. I like to taste the distillate as it’s coming off the stills, then taste the mash as it’s going into the fermenters and peek in on the fermenters as they are bubbling away. It’s also a good opportunity to catch up with the rest of the team and hear from them. Once I’m back at my desk, my day can go any one of a million different ways. There’s “Master Distiller” stuff like interviews and tastings, planning meetings for projects, Continuous Improvement strategizing with my team, etc., etc. There is rarely a dull moment!
Tell me a bit about why your job is so critical to the Heaven Hill Bourbon and American Whiskey-making process.
Given that we actually make the whiskey, we do play a critical role in keeping the warehouses full! My focus really lies in making great, consistent whiskey for our consumers to enjoy. It’s all about offering good whiskey, that has always been my philosophy and it’s the philosophy that Heaven Hill’s business is built on.
What’s your favorite Heaven Hill memory?
The day I was offered this job!
Which Heaven Hill corporate value do you feel your work best represents and why?
Teamwork. Even though I get to be the face of our whiskey brands, I do not work alone! Everyone at the distillery is every bit as passionate and dedicated to making great whiskey as I am. Beyond that, the warehouse and cistern room crews, the sales teams, the marketing folks, everyone else who helps get our fantastic whiskies to our consumers plays a critical role in the ongoing success of Heaven Hill.
What is your favorite thing about working for Heaven Hill?
The people and the culture that lets everyone contribute and be part of our success.
