Another high-profile female bourbon creator leaves Brown-Forman
A big change is coming for Old Forester, Brown-Forman’s oldest bourbon brand.
The company announced on Thursday that master taster Jackie Zykan is leaving after seven years to pursue other career opportunities. Her last day in the company will be July 1.
The company declined to comment on what this might mean for the future of Old Forester.
It’s a high-profile loss for the company, which in 2015 lost Marianne Eaves, who had been a protege of master distiller Chris Morris at Brown-Forman before she left to revive what became Castle & Key. (Eaves has since left to pursue other interests.)
Zykan has played a key role in reviving the brand and a version she created was the first Old Forester put out with a woman’s name on the bottle. She helped lead the brand’s innovation and and premiumization strategy.
“In the summer of 2015, I joined Brown-Forman to be a part of the reinvigoration of what continues to be one of the best-kept secrets in the bourbon world,” Zykan said in the announcement. “I have been honored to be part of a team that has revived the legacy of Old Forester, and I look forward to witnessing the next chapters of Old Forester from afar. I am excited for my personal and professional journey ahead.”
No word yet on what that might entail.
“Jackie Zykan’s leadership helped grow this storied, historic brand to become, once again, a beloved bourbon among consumers and bartenders,” said Mark Bacon, senior vice president and managing director of Super Premium American Whiskey at Brown-Forman, in the release. “We wish her great success in her next venture.”
Old Forester is Brown-Forman’s founding bourbon brand, founded in 1870 by George Garvin Brown. It is the considered the first brand sold as a bottled whiskey.
According to the fourth-quarter earnings report shared by the company June 8, in fiscal 2022 Old Forester sustained double-digit growth and surpassed 400,000 nine-liter cases in sales for the year.
