John Barleycorn Society
Spirits writers, marketers and designers are among the most influential forces in the spirits industry. Their opinions, ideas and creative talents inform and influence consumer perceptions and buying decisions.
The John Barleycorn Society was started by a group of spirits journalists seeking to honor excellence in all facets of the industry. The journalists spent several years creating a comprehensive competition that became the John Barleycorn Awards.
An elite team of authoritative and influential spirits journalists was selected to administer the flagship component of the Awards, a blind tasting competition destined to become the preeminent arbitrator of spirits taste, quality and character.
John McCarthy
Director of Judging, Spirits Journalist
John McCarthy is co-founder and Director of Judging for the John Barleycorn Society. John is the author of The Modern Gentleman, A Guide to the Best Drinks, Food, and Accessories and was the long-time senior managing editor and alcohol aficionado at Men’s Health magazine. When not travelling the world in search of spirits, wine, and cocktail enlightenment, John works as a mixologist and consultant. You can check out his storytelling at Forbes, Men’s Health, Maxim, JW Marriott magazine, Bourbon+, and Gear Patrol.
Fred Minnick
Spirits Personality, Author, Editor, Host
Fred Minnick is a renowned best-selling author, taster, and speaker. He’s the editor-in-chief of Bourbon+, co-founder of Bourbon & Beyond Festival, host of Bourbon Up on Amazon Prime, host of the Fred Minnick Podcast, and Fred Minnick YouTube channel, co-host of Bourbon Pursuit Podcast, and an in-demand spirits personality who regularly appears in national print and television interviews. Fred is also the bourbon authority of the Kentucky Derby Museum and is single handedly returning the ascot to prominence.
Dale DeGroff
Master Mixologist, Author
Dale DeGroff developed his extraordinary talent tending bar at the legendary Rainbow Room in New York, and is credited with setting off a cocktail explosion that continues to transform the industry. DeGroff is a founding partner of the award-winning Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR), a partnership of six of the world's leading spirits and cocktails authorities who provide training and credentialing in distilled spirits and mixology. Dale DeGroff is also the founding President of The Museum of the American Cocktail, part of the Southern Food & Beverage Institute in New Orleans.
Leslie Sbrocco
Author, Speaker, Consultant, and Television Host,
Leslie Sbrocco is one of the most awarded and renowned spirits journalists in the world. Leslie is a three-time Emmy winner, James Beard Award winner, author, speaker, consultant and television personality. In addition to a prolific book and magazine writing career, Leslie is the long-time host of the PBS series Check Please! a regular guest on NBC’s Today show, and frequently appears on CNN, QVC and the Hallmark Channel. Her latest project, 100 Days, Drinks, Dishes & Destinations is now airing on PBS
Frank Caiafa
Author, Beverage Director, Consultant
Frank Caiafa is an author, writer, tasting judge, and food and beverage director/consultant who has worked with some of the world’s top bars and restaurants including New York’s Lexington Hotel and Waldorf Astoria. Frank is the author of The Waldorf Astoria Bar Book, a modern update of the classic cocktail books of the Waldorf from the 1930s. His writing and recipes have been published in numerous publications including The New York Times, Wine Enthusiast, and Time Out New York.
Aaron Goldfarb
Author, Spirits Writer
Aaron Goldfarb has written 12 books, including his latest "Dusty Booze: In Search of Vintage Spirits." His other books include "Gather Around Cocktails: Drinks to Celebrate Usual and Unusual Holiday Drinks" and "Hacking Whiskey: Smoking, Blending, Fat-Washing, and Other Whiskey Experiments." In 2020 he was honored as Cocktail & Spirits Writer of the Year at Tales of the Cocktail's Spirited Awards. In 2022 he co-wrote "Brand Mysticism: Cultivate Creativity and Intoxicate Your Audience" with booze branding maven Steven Grasse of Hendrick's Gin fame. Goldfarb writes features for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Esquire, and VinePair, where he serves as their writer-at-large. He lives in Brooklyn with family. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @aarongoldfarb
Rachel DelRocco Terrazas
Spirits Writer, Speaker
Rachel DelRocco Terrazas is Associate Editor at Wine & Spirits Magazine, where she oversees the tasting department and leads the spirits writing. Rachel is also an in-demand speaker and educator having presented at San Antonio Cocktail Conference, Bar Convent Brooklyn, and BevCon Charleston. She is a certified sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers and is pursuing the Level 3 Advanced of Wine & Spirits Education Trust.
Susan Reigler
Author, Spirits Journalist
Former restaurant critic and beverage columnist for the Louisville Courier-Journal, Susan is bourbon columnist for Food & Ding and Covey Rise magazines and also writes for Bourbon+, LEO Weekly, and American Whiskey (tasting notes and ratings). Susan has authored or co-authored six books including Kentucky Bourbon Country: The Essential Travel Guide, The Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book, The Bourbon Tasting Notebook, and The American Whiskey Tasting Notebook, and Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon? – Setting the Table for Tastings, Food Pairings, Dinner, and Cocktail Parties. Susan is a member of the Order of the Writ, former president of both the Bourbon Women Association and the Kentucky chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International, an organization of women culinary professionals.
Brad Japhe
Spirits Journalist
Brad Japhe is a freelance journalist specializing in travel with a focus on spirits, food and beverage. His work appears in all major media markets across the United States. He hosts frequent craft beer/spirits tastings on both coasts, preferring scotch to bourbon, IPAs to lagers, and a hearty hamburger to a prime cut of steak. His favorite breed of dog is the Siberian Husky and he suffers from an irrational, unrequited love for the New York Knicks.
Robin Robinson
Author, Spirits Journalist
Robin Robinson is the author of The Complete Whiskey Course: A Comprehensive Tasting Guide in Ten Lessons, released in 2019 and winner of the 2020 Gourmand Award for Spirits Education. Robin created and teaches the popular “Whiskey Smackdown” series of classes at New York City’s renowned Astor Center, the longest running whiskey education class in the U.S., now in its 11th year.
Jonah Flicker
Spirits Journalist
Jonah Flicker is a freelance writer who covers spirits, lifestyle, and travel, with a particular focus on all things whiskey. His work has appeared in outlets including Robb Report, Esquire, USA Today, Maxim, Liquor.com, and many others. Over the years, he has traveled the world visiting distilleries from Kentucky to Scotland to uncover the stories behind the spirits.
Lincoln Chinnery
Cocktail Journalist
Lincoln Chinnery is a veteran cocktail journalist and whiskey enthusiast. He’s been published by several online and print publications since 2006. His writings can be found in VODA, Cognac Life Magazine, Wine Enthusiast and on the web at Liquor.com, Flaviar, VinePair, and The Alcohol Professor. He occasionally writes about whiskey and cigars for American Whiskey Magazine. Lincoln's other love affair doesn't involve Spirits or fire-cured leaves. It's with the fantastical realms of sci-fi movies and comic books. He's considered an intellectual badass by his friends at his local comic book shop.
G Clay Whittaker
Spirits Journalist
Clay Whittaker is a prolific freelance spirits, culture, and lifestyle writer. His work has been featured in some of the top print and digital publications like Esquire, Maxim, Men’s Journal, Southern Living, Popular Science, NBC, NPR, The Daily Beast, Playboy and Bourbon+. His media resume also includes assistant editor and tasting coordinator for Cigar Aficionado and editor at large for the Bourbon Review.
Susie O.
Spirits Journalist
Susie is a freelance cocktail, spirits, food, and travel writer coming to us from Dallas, Texas ... or wherever her travels take her. Susie is the founder of SusieDrinks.com and TheJetsweater.com, contributes to Bevvy, the Dallas Observer, D Magazine, Where Magazine, and Texas Lifestyle Magazine, and runs her own social media consulting agency. But she's never too busy to dive into "research" for her articles, because the perfect Gibson isn't going to find itself.
Wayne Curtis
Spirits Journalist
Wayne Curtis is author of And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails. Wayne’s written frequently about cocktails, spirits, travel and history for numerous publications, including The Atlantic, New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He currently covers spirits and cocktails for The Daily Beast, Garden & Gun, Spirited, Distiller, and 750 Daily.
Tony Sachs
Spirits Journalist
Tony Sachs has been writing about spirits, cocktails, bars and the boozy life in general since 2007 for the Huffington Post, Robb Report, Serious Eats, Whisky Advocate, Liquor.com, and Esquire. Tony has judged cocktail competitions for several brands, including Jack Daniel's, Stoli Elit, and Chivas Regal. Tony is a member of the Bourbon Roundtable, which helps select batches of Booker's Bourbon for release.
Nico Martini
Author, Spirits Journalist
Musician, performer, radio personality, university lecturer, author of Texas Cocktails (2018) and Texas Whiskey (2021) and a regular contributor to American Whiskey Magazine. Nico is also the Co-Founder of Grayson Blended Texas Bourbon, as well as Bar Draught, mobile draught cocktail solutions. He has presented at numerous industry events, including Tales of the Cocktail, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States Conference, San Antonio Cocktail Conference, Catersource, Portland Cocktail Week and The Bar Institute.
Nino Kilgore-Marchetti
Spirits Writer, Entrepreneur
Nino Kilgore-Marchetti is a freelance spirits writer and editor with over a decade of experience covering this topic, focusing on whiskey. He is the former owner and editor-in-chief of The Whiskey Wash, a leading independent whiskey lifestyle website. Nino has reviewed and judged whiskey and other spirits for publications and competitions. He is also a member of the Order of The Writ, a Kentucky fraternal organization, in recognition of his coverage of Kentucky bourbon.
David Jennings
Spirits Writer, Spirits Critic
A passionate spirits writer and critic, David Jennings has cemented himself as the leading independent authority on Wild Turkey Bourbon. His 2020 book, American Spirit: Wild Turkey Bourbon from Ripy to Russell, is regarded as the ultimate resource for Wild Turkey’s brand history. Its follow-up, 2023’s Wild Turkey Musings: A Whiskey Writer’s Retrospective, dives deeper into the storied brand and provides insight into the mind and motivations of a whiskey enthusiast. David has been featured in publications like Whisky Advocate and The Bourbon Review, and has appeared as a guest on popular whiskey podcasts, such as Bourbon Pursuit and Whisky Cast. His blog, Rare Bird 101, has received nearly two million reads since its launch in 2016.
Shannon Mustipher
Author, Spirits Educator, Cocktail Consultant
Shannon Mustipher is a spirits educator and beverage consultant and the author of Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails (Rizzoli/Universe). After launching a Caribbean rum focused bar at Gladys Caribbean in 2014, she went on to found Women Who Tiki, a tropical cocktail-centric pop up that gathers a team of women bartenders to share their talents and collaborate on creating a one night only experience. Shannon's writing, cocktail recipes, and opinions have been featured in a number of publications, including Imbibe, Punch.com, GQ.com, and Liquor.com. Her first book, Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails (Rizzoli/Universe), won the IACP Award in the "Best New Title in Beer, Wine and Spirits'' category in 2020. The same year, Ms. Mustipher was inducted into TOTC's Dame Hall of Fame and the recipient of the Pioneer Award. Shannon currently works as a consultant to and advisor to a number of spirits brands, creating educational and tasting experiences around their products as well as giving input on the creation of new products - inclusive of an award winning RTD with LiveWire and a limited release bottling with Myrtle Bank Rum. A longtome resident of Brooklyn, NY, Shannon and enjoys traveling, cooking, and collecting “too many books'.
LP O’Brien
Mixologist
LP O’Brien is a highly decorated and award-winning Afro-Boricua mixologist. Her dedication to education, innovation, and cultural integration through cocktail creations led her to establish LP Drinks. LP was famously crowned the winner of Netflix's new television series, Drink Masters, and has been recognized by DISCUS, Global Bar 100 Industry People To Know, and the Dame Hall of Fame. She is a proud co-owner of Siponey Spritz Co.™, the first B Corp-certified spirits-based canned cocktail company.
Lou Banks
Author, Entrepreneur
Lou Bank has sold more copies of a single comic book than anyone else in America. He helped bring Pokemon to the masses, Star Wars to the cereal aisle, and Morimoto to the beer geeks. But if you’re here, you’re probably more interested in the fact that he founded SACRED, 501c3 not-for-profit that helps improve quality of life in the rural Mexican communities where heritage agave spirits are made, and is the cohost of Agave Road Trip, an award-winning, critically acclaimed podcast that helps gringx bartenders better understand agave, agave spirits, and rural Mexico. Lou also writes about agave spirits for publications like Barleycorndrinks.com and Inside Hook.
David Tao
Writer, Presenter, and Entrepreneur
David Thomas Tao is a writer, presenter, and entrepreneur with a passion for exploring how beverages bring people together. A native Kentuckian and Kentucky Colonel, David is also Co-Founder of BarBend.com, the world's premier strength sports and training media company. His writing has appeared in outlets including Drinkhacker, Malt Review, Slate, Forbes, and more. David was a 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 listmaker for Media.
Zach Johnston
Spirits Editor
Before getting into a writing career online, Zach spent years working around the globe as both a chef and a high-end bartender. Highlights include living with chefs in Thailand and cutting his teeth as a pizzaiolo in a Neapolitan pizzeria in Washington, DC. He’s also worked in organic wine bars in Prague and refined his cocktail skills at iconic bars in Berlin. Zach parlayed those skills into writing for UPROXX where his burger recipes get hundreds of thousands of views and his whiskey tasting notes are some of the most read in the industry.
Maggie Kimberl
Spirits Editor, Spirits Jornalist
Maggie Kimberl is the Content Editor of American Whiskey Magazine and the Co-Chair of the World Whiskies Awards. She is a freelance spirits journalist focusing on whiskey culture in the United States, though she considers herself to be 'geographically blessed' to live in the epicenter of the bourbon world, Louisville, Kentucky. When she's not covering the bourbon beat you can find her browsing through vintage vinyl with her kids or tending to her homegrown tomatoes. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and check out her blog.
Emma Janzen
Spirits Author, Journalist, and Photographer
Emma Janzen is an award-winning book author, journalist, and photographer with over a decade’s worth of experience reporting on global drinks cultures. Her first book, Mezcal: The History, Craft & Cocktails of the World’s Ultimate Artisanal Spirit, was nominated for a James Beard award in 2018, and she has since penned stories about cocktails and spirits of all kinds for outlets including The New York Times, PUNCH, Imbibe, and Eater. She has also co-authored two books with notable bartenders: The Bartender's Manifesto with Toby Maloney, and The Way of the Cocktail with Julia Momosé, which won the James Beard award for best beverage book in 2022.
Amanda Schuster
Amanda Schuster
Amanda Schuster is an author and freelance writer with over 15 years' industry experience covering wine, spirits, cocktails, and food. She is the author of two books about the New York cocktail scene, New York Cocktails and Drink Like a Local New York: The Insider’s Guide to Gotham. With advanced training in both wine and spirits, Amanda likes to think of herself as bi-spiritual.
OJ Lima
Spirits Journalist and Spirits Entrepreneur
Orlando (OJ) Lima is a spirits expert and the President of Taste Select Repeat (TSR), an e-commerce marketplace for liquor enthusiasts. TSR is well-known for its single barrel picks of whiskey and tequila, and commitment to spirits education through its member program and tasting events. Lima worked in journalism and media for 25 years, and has bylines in publications including Bon Appetit, Vinepair, Complex and Vibe. He's also been featured in Vanity Fair, People, Mic and Bourbon+ for his work with TSR.
