As one of only a handful of female Master blenders in the world, Rachel Barrie is creating some of the world’s finest Single Malt Scotch whiskies. With over 26 years of experience, Rachel joined the Brown-Forman family in March of 2017 as Master Blender for the Glen Dronach, Benriach, and Glenglassaugh distilleries.

She first worked as a research scientist at the Scotch Whisky Research Institute, optimizing flavour character in distillation and maturation. She then moved into production at the Glenmorangie Company, where she worked on Glenmorangie, Ardbeg, and Glen Moray single malts as well as Bailie Nicol Jarvie and Martin’s blends, becoming Master Blender in 2003. During this time, she also managed the stocks for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, giving her a deeper insight into a great many more distillers. She moved to Morrison Bowmore Distillers in 2011 where she developed the whiskeys for Bowmore, Auchentoshan, and Glen Garioch single malts, also working laterally with Laphroaig and Ardmore. Rachel has tasted over 150,000 casks and can intuitively bring together an expression. In July 2018, Rachel was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Edinburgh for services to the whisky industry and for her understanding of the alchemy of whisky.

A native of San Jose , Cara Morrison earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Fermentation Science from the University of California at Davis. After college Cara spent a year traveling the other winemaking regions of the world, working at wineries in Australia, Chile, and New York while also studying the craft in New Zealand, Eastern Europe, Italy, Germany &  France (in Burgundy, the Rhone, Bordeaux, Champagne and the Loire region). Cara joined the Jekel Vineyard winemaking team in 1998. In 2000, she was selected as the White Winemaker at Fetzer Vineyards. In that time, she particularly enjoyed working with a variety of grapes including Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Viognier and, of course, Chardonnay.

Cara joined Sonoma-Cutrer in 2005 where she immersed herself in crafting Chardonnay in the classic, Burgundian style. She considers Chardonnay a special grape that allows the winemaker more versatility than any other; Sonoma-Cutrer’s intense focus on Chardonnay is what attracted her to the brand. Today, Cara loves that her role allows her to experiment with barrel maturation and the blending process of both of Sonoma-Cutrer’s Burgundian grape varietals–Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Winemaking is often a family profession and, true to form ,Cara is married to Boyd ,a winemaker at Gallo Sonoma. They and their two children Liam and Bridget live in Sonoma County and, when they aren’t busy making wine, enjoy taking family roundtrips to the mountains where they ski, hike and swim.

Lexie Phillips was hired as assistant distiller at the Jack Daniel Distillery in 2020. In this role, she uses her full knowledge of distillery history and the whiskey-making process to serve as a collaborator to Master Distiller Chris Fletcheron whiskey innovation.

She travels as a brand ambassador to conduct tasting events and brand education, and also conducts in-depth distillery tours for visitors to Lynchburg. Lexie earned a degree in agricultural science from Middle Tennessee State University. Prior to becoming assistant distiller, Lexie worked in Jack Daniel’s quality control and distillery operations, most recently serving as distillery lead operator. One of only a handful of women to have worked as a distillery operator, Lexie hopes to share her passion for whiskey making and inspire interest in future female distillers. Born and raised just outside of Lynchburg in Estill Springs, TN, Lexie’s family has long, deep ties to Lynchburg and the Jack Daniel Distillery. All in all, Lexie has up wards of 20 family members who have worked, or who still work, along side her at Jack. Her husband, Josh, works as a processor. Lexie and Josh live in Estill Springs with their six dogs and cats- two who go by “Jack.” Her favorite way to drink Jack Daniel’s is neat, but if it’s hot, she may add a little ice.

McCauley Adams is a 14 year veteran with the Brown-Forman Corporation, currently serving as the Manager of the Brown-Forman Brand. She leads the work around the visual identity of the B-F brand, the strategy for the corporation’s Employer Brand, as well as the communication around Brown-Forman’s commitments in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance).

McCauley brings 17 years of beverage alcohol industry experience into this most recent role. She began her career in San Jose, Costa Rica as a sales representative for DISPAL (Distribuidora Panamericana de Licores). After a year in Costa Rica, McCauley moved to San Antonio, Texas where she worked for Republic National Distributing Company for two years. In her first year with Republic, she was the Hispanic Marketing Manager, working specifically with the Hispanic Market in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. In her second year, McCauley moved into the general market where she managed several sales representatives in on premise spirits.

McCauley was hired by Brown-Forman in 2008, as the Jack Daniel’s Market Manager for Georgia, based in Atlanta. She was also the Spirits On Premise Manager for Atlanta for just over 2 1⁄2 years before moving home to Louisville, Ky. Upon moving home, McCauley opened a new chapter in her career as a Global Talent Acquisition Partner. In this role, McCauley was able to interact with prospective employees in various departments of the corporation, opening her eyes even more to the industry and the company.

In May of 2017, McCauley joined the Corporate Communications team as the Manager of Communications and Brand History. In this role, she had the opportunity to build and develop the Brown-Forman Corporate Archives and to plan the company’s 150th anniversary in 2020. In December, 2019, McCauley’s role became the manager of the Brown-Forman Brand.

McCauley holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of the South in Sewanee, TN and an MBA from the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. She lives in Louisville, KY with her husband Grant, and their daughters, Polly and Franny.