Jane Bowie
Speciality
SpiritsCompany
Potter Jane
Position
Master Blender
Jane is a 16-year Veteran of the Spirits Industry, which is a miracle since she didn’t really want the first distillery job she applied for. Working and traveling abroad was her only priority until her mom saw an ad in the local paper for a position at Maker’s Mark Distillery and made her apply. But instead of just settling for the posted job at Maker’s Mark, Jane pitched the founders on why she should be their first international employee. So, in 2007, Jane was hired as Maker’s Mark’s Global Brand Ambassador based out of London, England. Jane was responsible for bringing the story of Maker’s to those outside the U.S. that had never heard it before, thus seeding and launching the brand globally. Amid the Bourbon Boom, Jane was asked to come back to Kentucky to take on a more commercially strategic role. In this role, Jane worked directly with the founders to launch the first cask strength Maker’s Mark bourbon. In 2014, Jane recognized the need to create a private single barrel program at Maker’s to satisfy the growing consumer interest in private single barrel expressions. Knowing a typical single barrel selection would not work at Maker’s, Jane created the Private Select Barrel Program which is a revolutionary wood-finishing process that allows consumers to pick their own combination of stave finishes. In 2016, as Director of Innovation & Master of Maturation, Jane officially launched Private Select and as head of advocacy, hired the first of many employees for the Maker’s Mark Global Diplomat Team. Jane’s true talent, driven by her own passion for exploration, is dreaming up never before tasted whiskey expressions and bringing them to life. Although others might say Jane’s best talent is her ability to describe what she’s tasting, which usually involves her saying something like “if cornbread had a baby with a Hershey Bar”. A true innovator, Jane went on to create the Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series, which have been awarded high honors at some of the most respected global whiskey competitions, and many other liquid innovations that remain in the Maker’s pipeline. Having left Maker’s in 2022 as Head of Innovation & Blending, Jane and business partner, Denny Potter, are currently building a greenfield distillery in Washington County, Kentucky. They plan to be operational by January of 2025 (if they don’t kill each other first).
