On International Women’s Day every year, the voices and stories of women across the world are celebrated, as we address the issues that cause gender inequality and diversity. But despite these issues remaining, such voices and stories take a backseat once the day is done.
We think it’s worth doing the opposite and actively challenging the issues that create these gaps in our industry, which is why we launched our weekly Wednesday Women series, where we profile the stories of the inspiring women in this great and wide industry.
Today we speak with Ev Liong, Spirits Blender at Archie Rose.
From balancing botanicals in gin to harmonising cask-matured whiskies, Liong’s work is guided by precision and patience. As a custodian of quality within the Archie Rose distillery, she says the role of a spirits blender is about more than a good palate, it’s about creating something with intention, complexity and character.
“Blending spirits is a balancing act, adjusting flavours and spirit – ABV and weight of spirit – to a point where they are harmonised together,” Liong explains.
“A holistic approach is taken when blending, as blending is a part of a larger chain of events that happens to raw material to the final product. That consideration has to be taken on board to inform the finishing act of blending.
“Like cairn (stone stacking), we seek the point of balance of different flavours coming together to showcase the best aspects of each other. Sometimes it’s easy to find the nuance that throws the balance out, other times frustratingly tedious and I find myself going around in circles testing out different rationals to find the point of harmony.”
But spirits blending encompasses much more than recipe creation and development of new products.
“The role of a blender is rather romanticised,” Liong told The Shout.
“The sensory department plays a significant role from start to finish of the distilling process, we work closely with the distilling and operations team for various quality assurance checks. A big part of our role is to ensure systems and processes of the plant are efficient, and troubleshoot when there are failures in the system.
“No – we do not taste every sample that comes through. We use our nose to determine the quality and assessment of spirits; be it botanical, aged spirits, new make. The palate fatigues quicker than the nose.”
A blender’s path
For Liong, blending spirits is a craft informed by years spent working across every corner of the drinks industry – from bartending to her time as a sommelier and wine buyer, she’s seen it all.
While working at Whisky & Alement in Melbourne in 2013, she says there was one defining moment that would eventually change the course of her career – though not for another eight years.
“I had entered a major cocktail competition and was in a deep dive to find out how a blended whisky product we had to use in our cocktail was made. I was very fortunate to have a series of single malts to pull from our back bar that could potentially make up that final blend, and on a quieter night on shift I endeavoured to recreate that blend,” says Liong.
“Much to my surprise the end result was a fairly close in profile to the whisky used in the competition. Through that process it opened my eyes to the influence of flavours on each other and how only small amounts could change the profile of the liquid.”
With no formal training or pathways into blending, Liong continued to work in other venues and branched out into wine tastings and trade trainings, before eventually joining Archie Rose in 2021.
And although Liong stepped into her role as a spirits blender with a well-rounded perspective, she says it is not just her diverse career that has shaped her success in this field.
“Drawing from the different skill sets that I’ve picked up through the years, my approach to flavour draws mainly from my heritage, as it’s a consistent component of my experiences that grows with me.
“We all experience flavour differently. [My experience] has informed me through a lens that I centre from interacting and translating other people’s perception of flavour to inform a collective viewpoint. There is no right or wrong in it. It’s important to acknowledge that we have our familial heritage as a base to lean into, but also forming a common language to be understood is important in working with others and exploring potential blends.”
Crafting character
Though spirits blending is a role Liong is uniquely equipped for, she puts great emphasis on the creative and collaborative nature of not just the job, but the entire team behind Archie Rose, and the impact that has on the distillery’s success.
“Archie Rose is a pipe dream, the innovation that the company supports has made an impact on the Australian distilled spirits industry. The willingness to continue to do unusual things, at the level of quality and scale to make it accessible to a wider audience is a privilege that not a lot of the wider industry peers have the luxury of pursuing. I have to acknowledge that about my role because it’s not something that is openly available.
“Our senior blender Dave ‘Fish’ Fisher has a great philosophy to working in teams, learning from him and the others in the sensory team has made this role more fulfilling than anticipated.”
While spirits blender is a title that Liong takes great pride in holding, she also reflects on one particular achievement as a memorable milestone in her career.
“I’m rather proud of the Heritage Red Gum Cask Single Malt release under the Trails & Exceptions cask label, it’s pretty special in its story and how that product came to land. The Red Gum casks themselves hold a significance to Head Distiller Dave Withers through their connection to his late father. It was a privilege for me to be custodian to the project and put a product to release.
“This project opened my eyes up to the potential of native oak when seasoned with time, and could be Australia’s answer to Japanese Mizunara casks,” Liong concluded.