A Message from Lynn House

GUEST EDITOR LYNN HOUSE

Photo courtesy of Heaven Hill

THE LADY LOVES HER WHISKEY

I remember my first foray into drinking began with a Manhattan. Growing up around brown spirits, I had no fear of them and fell in love with Cognac in my twenties, but whiskey always had a special place in my heart. While working through college studying theater, I bartended at a joint where I was exposed to a greater breadth of spirits. From there, my hospitality career took me to high-end restaurants, fine dining, and craft cocktail bars. My love for spirits, especially brown ones, grew along the way leading to an educational journey. I enrolled in the Academy of Spirits and Fine Service, then went to the Academy of Culinary Mixology, Bar Smarts, and was part of the first group of bartenders to be certified USBG as part of the Master Mixology program.

In 2012 I was fortunate to land the job of National Brand Ambassador for PAMA, part of the Heaven Hill portfolio. However, my eye was on working with its amazing whiskey portfolio. Fast forward, and I am now the National Spirits Specialist and Portfolio Mixologist for the company. My greatest joy is walking people through tastings and have the person who never thought would like a brown spirit, let alone a whiskey, become a fan. Brown spirits are versatile. Let’s face it—you can enjoy them so many ways. Being able to share my passion for them, as well as knowledge, is a blessing.

I am incredibly excited about this issue of CHILLED and look forward to learning more as I dive into all the features. You can be sure I will be toasting all of you along the way! Cheers! Lynn House

Lynn House is National Spirits Specialist and Portfolio Mixologist for Heaven Hill and is responsible for support of the entire portfolio, including brand education and cocktail development. She is a resource for distributors, trade personnel, internal field sales and brand teams.

Ms. House was Best American Bar Mentor finalist in the 2020 Spirited Awards and a 2018 finalist for Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards Best American Brand Ambassador.