Inside Job: Master Distiller by Silvia Pikal
At 27 years old, Caitlin Quinn has an impressive title for a young professional — she’s the master distiller at Eau Claire Distillery in Turner Valley.
Quinn was born in Winnipeg and raised in Scotland, where she completed a degree in chemistry. After graduating, she came to the realization that working as a chemist wasn’t quite what she wanted. To pursue a new career, she completed a master’s in brewing and distilling from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. “It’s way more entertaining being able to drink what you make at the end of the day,” Quinn says. In August 2015, she moved to Canada for the position of master distiller for Eau Claire Distillery. Quinn likes that she gets to do a little bit of everything at work, including planning out when products will be produced and released, managing a team of distiller assistants, blending spirits, trying out barrels used for aging spirits, and her favourite part of the job — recipe development.
Her favourite part of the job? Recipe development.
“Being able to go into a liquor store and see a product you’ve made from start to finish, I think that’s the most satisfying part.” She loves that she can read the handwriting of the batch number on a bottle on the shelf and know exactly which team member bottled it. In her time at Eau Claire Distillery, award-winning Parlour Gin, Prickly pear EquineOx and Three Point Vodka have all been released. Quinn’s 20
