Drew Russell

Background

About Drew Russell

In May of 2016 I graduated with honors from The Ohio State University with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice. I graduated Cum Laude by maintaining a 3.5 cumulative GPA throughout my years there. In addition, I was named to 7 Dean's Lists from The Ohio State School of Arts and Sciences.Distilling is my passion and I feel fortunate to have discovered it while still young enough to make a career change. I made the decision to leave my promising career with Progressive Insurance after 5 years of outstanding performance evaluations and working my way up the corporate ladder in order to pursue my distilling passion. My beginnings in distillation involved me teaching myself the art and the science through books, podcasts, documentaries, shows and any other sources I could find. I built my own still at home and eventually was fortunate to become the Distiller at West Branch Malts and Distillery where I have excelled. In just months, I am proud to say that I made improvements to the ingredients we use, streamlined the fermentation and distillation processes, assembled a rick to store barrels, and created multiple detailed Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to record and archive all fermentation batches, barrels, and final products ever completed. These changes resulted in a significant increase in spirits produced while simultaneously improving the quality of those same products, based on blind taste tests. With my psychology studies and strong interpersonal skills I have found that I am able to form lasting relationships with people of all ages, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds even during short interactions because these bonds are built upon trust. Each person has a unique background story and understanding other people's perspectives has helped me achieve success in many areas of my life whether in my personal life or guiding visitors on a distillery tour.