Hiring your first distiller

What the role really covers

In a small distillery, the first distiller does far more than run the stills. They mash, manage fermentation, make the cuts, fill casks, clean and maintain equipment and keep the production records. Often they also train the operators, work with the excise officer and help develop products such as gin.

So you are hiring a production manager, a quality lead and a safety officer in one person. Write the job description with all of that in it, so candidates know what they are walking into.

Skills to look for

• Process understanding. They should explain mashing, fermentation and distillation clearly, including why a malt whisky wash is not boiled and why the wash sits around 8% ABV.
• Cut judgement. Making the cut from foreshots to heart to feints by nose, strength and temperature. This is the single biggest influence a distiller has on spirit character.
• Measurement discipline. Strength measured with temperature correction, volumes recorded, litres of pure alcohol calculated correctly every time.
• Safety habits. Ethanol vapour, steam, hot surfaces and confined spaces such as washbacks are real hazards. Look for someone who treats them seriously.
• Cleaning and hygiene. Infected washbacks give off flavours that carry into the spirit.

Where candidates come from

India has a large distilling industry, much of it producing molasses or grain neutral spirit at scale. Experience there brings strong discipline in measurement, excise records and safety, though pot still malt distilling is a different craft. Brewers bring fermentation skills and hygiene habits that transfer well. Candidates from abroad may bring malt whisky experience but need to learn Indian excise rules and climate.

Qualifications such as the Institute of Brewing and Distilling's General Certificate or Diploma in Distilling show a candidate knows the theory. Our guide to becoming a distiller in India describes the usual paths into the job.

Questions that reveal real experience

Ask practical questions and listen for detail:

• "Walk me through a spirit still run. When do you cut to the heart? How do you decide?"
• "A washback is fermenting slowly and smells sour. What do you check?"
• "New make comes off at 71% ABV at 25 °C. How do you record the litres of pure alcohol?"
• "What would you do if you smelled spirit vapour near the receiver?"
• "How would you clean a still between a peated and an unpeated run?"

Good candidates answer with numbers and steps. Weak ones answer in general terms.

Test on the floor

If you have a plant or access to one, ask shortlisted candidates to spend a day there. Watch how they handle equipment, check measurements and talk to operators. Ask them to nose samples of new make from different points in a run and describe where they would cut. A day on the floor tells you more than any interview.

Check references with people who worked alongside the candidate, not just their managers. Ask specifically about safety and record keeping. A conversation about first fill versus refill casks also shows how a candidate thinks about maturation, not only distillation.

Fit with the founder

Founders often have strong ideas about the whisky they want. The distiller has to turn those ideas into spirit. Look for someone who can explain why a request will or will not work. They should push back on safety or quality even when it is inconvenient. A distiller who always agrees with the founder is a risk.

Pay, structure and retention

Experienced malt distillers are scarce in India, so expect competition for good candidates. Rather than guess at pay, ask a few people in the industry what the role commands in your region. Be ready to offer something beyond salary: a share in the first release, a role in shaping the spirit or support for further qualifications.

Think about structure too. A first distiller cannot run every shift alone. Plan for at least one trained operator who can cover a still run. Write standard operating procedures from the first week so knowledge does not live in one person's head. A distillery that loses its only distiller loses its process with them.

Retention comes from respect for the craft. Give your distiller time to experiment within the production plan. Listen when they say a cask or a cut is not right.

Your next move

Before you interview anyone, write out the five questions above with the answer you would expect to hear, including the arithmetic for the litres of pure alcohol. If you cannot write a model answer for one of them, learn that part of the process first. A founder who understands cuts, fermentation and strength measurement spots weak answers fast.

Common questions

What should a first distiller know?

Mashing, fermentation, distillation and cuts, strength measurement with temperature correction, excise record keeping and plant safety.

Is experience in a large Indian distillery useful for craft whisky?

Yes, for measurement, records and safety. Pot still malt distilling is a different craft, so check experience with cuts and small batch work.

How do I test a distiller candidate?

Ask practical questions that need numbers and steps, then if possible watch them work on a plant for a day.