She created the best whiskey of 2021. Now she’s joining a rising Kentucky bourbon star
For a spirits company that is barely a year and a half old and doesn’t have a distillery of its own, Blue Run Spirits is making waves.
First, they hired former Four Roses master distiller Jim Rutledge as “liquid advisor” to select their first releases and guide contract distilling for them at Bardstown Bourbon Co.
That resulted in a handful of well-received whiskeys that sold out online in minutes and won awards at the prestigious 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
All that buzz was great but such limited releases meant few people really had a chance to taste the product.
Now, they have hired a protege of Wild Turkey master distillers Jimmy Russell, known as “the Buddha of Bourbon,” and his son, Eddie.
Shaylyn Gammon of Louisville has been named Blue Run’s first whiskey director to help expand the brand’s portfolio.
Blue Run founder and CEO Mike Montgomery said they targeted and courted Gammon after tasting the work she had been doing for the Lawrenceburg distillery, including creating brand extensions Master’s Keep, Rare Breed, Russell’s Reserve and Matthew McConaughey’s Longbranch.
The Russell’s Reserve 13-year-old Bourbon she created was named the Best American Whiskey of 2021 by spirits critic Fred Minnick.
Now a new mother to 8-month-old Finn, Gammon created that whiskey through smell alone because she was pregnant while it was in development.
“Thankfully about 70 percent of taste is smell, so I opted not to drink during pregnancy but my nose was functioning just fine,” she said. The recognition by Minnick “was very validating.”
Gammon, who is a graduate of the University of Kentucky in food science, also has worked with AmeriQual Foods, YUM! Brands and Land O’Frost.
“The nature of what I do is a really good mix of science and art. You have to have the science, which is my background. The art is the really fun creative part: It’s like painting with barrels,” Gammon said. “That part works really well with being a mother, you don’t have to lock yourself in the office. You can go for the day, get your blend down and be done in an hour. As long as I can concentrate and really create, I can feel really good about what I’ve done.”
Gammon said that she is excited to work with Rutledge and Blue Run.
“My goal is to take this wonderful brand they have built so far and help elevate it more,” Gammon said.
For the last eight years, she said, she has been working in research and development and all things innovation at Campari Group’s Wild Turkey, where she helped the Russells steer the “amazing liquid” they make into new products. She was responsible for everything from selecting and blending barrels to overseeing the launch of new labels.
With Blue Run, she said that she plans to assess the current inventory and create plan for how best to elevate and utilize that, through blending or finishing to enhance flavors.
“That’s where my sweet spot is, how to maximize flavor,” Gammon said.
Montgomery agreed: “Shaylyn has what I think is a world-class nose and a world-class palate to make sure the product being put into the bottle is as good as it can be.”
And the company plans to release more bottles as they grow: Montgomery said future releases will be larger, topping 10,000 bottles. Originally only available in Kentucky and Georgia, Blue Run is now available 14 states and three countries.
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
