Owen Martin says Angel’s Envy’s philosophy is to look at “European whisky production and then use them to make the traditional American bourbon feel fresh and new”.
How did you get into the drinks industry?
I actually got into bourbon, and more broadly, whisky, through craft beer brewing. I did my undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, but I always knew I was not going to continue on this career path because my true passion was elsewhere. I started brewing beer as a hobby, and soon started looking into how I could solidify this with a proper education. This was at the height of the craft beer brewing craze in the US, and all the programs I looked at were either fully booked, waitlisted or very expensive – and in the end, all these programs just offered a certificate.
So I started looking for opportunities abroad and soon found exactly what I was looking for in Edinburgh – a Masters Degree in Brewing and Distilling Science at the Heriot-Watt University. I packed up my bags, moved to Scotland and started the course.
What made you want to get into distilling and train as a distiller?
Angel’s Envy is helping to bring the traditions of European whisky making into the US
Living in Scotland and drinking whisky in the great pubs of Edinburgh, I soon decided that I wanted to switch from beer to whisky. I did my master thesis at a lowland single malt distillery, and then moved back to the US. I worked at small bourbon distilleries for a couple of years, and in 2016 I moved to the largest single malt distillery in the United States, Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey. There I worked myself up to head distillery and production manager. I had the opportunity of doing a lot of research and development, trialling different casks and cask finishings.
How and why did you join Angel’s Envy?
I knew of Angel’s Envy as a brand. To me it is the most prominent cask-finished whiskey in America. When this position came up, I jumped at this once in a lifetime opportunity. I moved to Kentucky last October and have been hitting the ground running ever since.
What is it about the bourbons and American whiskies you are making that you think makes Angel’s Envy stand out?
The tasting room at the Angel’s Envy distillery
Bourbon is a very traditional category, in the same way that Scotch whisky is for Scotland. You have very strict regulations on what you can and can´t do, and Angel’s Envy is the first bourbon brand that has launched solely on finished whiskeys. In Europe, consuming finished whiskeys is quite well understood with the influence from Scottish and Irish distillates, and even from the whiskeys on the Europe mainland. But in America this is still a fairly unknown process.
How has the style and brand developed during your time with the distillery for bourbons and American whiskey?
Lincoln Henderson used to work for a very traditional and respected spirit manufacturing company and was involved in conceptualising some of the most well-known American whiskey brands. But as always, to keep tradition alive, there are certain lines that you have to stay within. He was always a creative thinker and founded Angel’s Envy to apply his 40 years of experience to new ideas. I do not want to innovate for innovation’s sake, but rather step forward to meet the expectations set by our customers today and in the future.
You work hard on different finishes and using different maturing vessels – can you explain the process and reasoning behind this?
Angel’s Envy is willing to experiment with different finishes in wine and port barrels
Bourbon can only be aged in a brand new white oak barrel. That’s traditionally where it stops, so to apply a finishing process was a new idea. We took an European tradition and applied it to American whiskey at a larger scale for the first time. We age our bourbons for five years in new oak barrels, then we blend them together and put them into barrels that previously held another spirit or wine for a few months. We have a phrase that we put up behind our bar at the distillery: “Revere tradition, embrace progress.” This fits our approach to taking something that’s known to European whisky production and then using this to make the traditional American bourbon feel fresh and new.
Why are you using ruby port casks – what do they bring to the finished bourbon whiskey?
For our Angel’s Envy Bourbon Finished in Port Wine Barrels, we place our bourbon into barrels that previously held port from the Douro region in Portugal for three to six months. By finishing the whiskey in 60-gallon Portuguese ruby port casks, it adds nuanced flavour complexity, featuring ripe fruits with vanilla and bitter chocolate on the palate.
What do you see as the biggest challenge to get right as a distiller?
My main job is offering a continuous quality of our core product and this consistency is a big challenge. My second job is to create new releases and I want to offer our loyal followers something that’s outside the box. I am planning to take some of the existing whiskeys that have aged for a long time in our cellar and put a new spin on them by finishing them in new and surprising casks but also push the boundaries of blending.
What do you find most satisfying and rewarding about your role?
Angel’s Envy master distiller Owen Martins says he is quite happy to look to “bend the bourbon rules” if it keeps its customers happy
Working with the team on meeting our customers’ expectations. The latest release in 2022 was sold within a few hours, so there are expectations to meet for sure. We are lucky to have an engaged customer base of whiskey enthursiasts and collectors, so we are always trying to find ways to bend the rules of bourbon while ensuring our biggest fans are satisfied. The most rewarding part is developing a new release that both our production team & the customers are really excited about.
Where would you like to take the brand next?
When I look at what is going to set us apart going forward and what kind of experimentation I want to do, it’s “Revere tradition, embrace progress” that sets our mindset. What can I learn from the Cognac or rum industry, what new techniques for blending and finishing can we learn from them and how can we apply this to our product? As a relatively new company, we have less of a blueprint, so that allows me a level of creativity that I would not have when working for a brand that’s been around for a hundred years. And that’s where I think we excel – at this outside of the box thinking that appeals to the next generation of whiskey consumers.
What are your thoughts on the overall bourbon and American whiskey category and how it is performing vs other spirits categories?
The distillery where it all happens for Angel’s Envy
The American whiskey category, particularly bourbon, are showing signs of growth both within the US and also in the rest of the world. Similar to agave based spirits (like Mezcal and Tequila), people are becoming more knowledgable about what they drink and are moving towards more premium products in the space. This is particularly exciting for Angel’s Envy because there is white space to share with people how to enjoy ultra-premium bourbon.
What would you like to see the overall bourbon and American whiskey sectors doing to build the categories and attract more drinkers?
American whiskey and bourbon is experiencing a surge of younger, more diverse drinkers coming into the category and a lot of it can be attributed to the rise of cocktail culture. Bourbon and rye are integral ingredients in classic cocktails, like the Manhattan or the Old Fashioned, which continue to grow in popularity.
Who do you see as your direct competition in terms of drinks categories?
We see a ton of white space in the market, especially within the ultra-premium bourbon sector. In Kentucky there is a saying, “an amber wave floats all boats,” which (to us) highlights the importance of consumers getting more exposure into the bourbon category that establishes an appreciation for ultra-premium bourbon.
Who do you take inspiration from or admire in what they do in the world of spirits and distilling?
The late Lincoln Henderson is still very much an inspiration for Owen Martins
Lincoln Henderson is obviously a big inspiration. My way of honouring him is to continue to do that, within our own rules and guidelines.
Plus, the great part of belonging to the Bacardi family is to be able to exchange with other master distillers. An amazing side of my job so far has been the opportunity to exchange with malts or Patrón master distillers on the processes that they used and how we could apply them to experiment at Angel’s Envy.
Would you like to work with different styles of spirits (e.g. white spirits / gins / tequilas, etc), and if so what?
I haven’t been told that anything is off the table, so I have a blank slate to work with and I’m excited to get into different things. Bacardi has an incredible portfolio, so I’m trying to get some of barrels from the other brands, like Patrón. I don’t what the regular barrels though, I want to know about special releases etc, so I’m patiently waiting for those releases to come.
Outstanding ambitions as a distiller?
To bring it back to the phrase I mentioned before, I plan to revere tradition and embrace progress in the production, while also educating the consumer. In the US, it’s about educating about finishing, while in Europe I want to advocate for American whiskey as an industry.
- To find out more go to Angel’s Envy website here.
