Episode 179. Chris Morris, Master Distiller, Brown-Forman Corporation
A competitive spirit drives Chris Morris in his pursuit for excellence as a master distiller.
A Louisville native, Chris is only the seventh master distiller at the Brown-Forman Corporation since 1870, as well as its current spirits historian. He is responsible for maintaining the award-winning taste of the Woodford Reserve family of brands and serves as brand ambassador at trade and consumer functions.
Chris is one of three generations in his family to work at Brown-Forman. He began as a trainee at Brown-Forman in the central lab under the master distiller in 1976. He left to work for Glenmore Distillers in 1988, and then United Distillers when it acquired Glenmore in 1991. He returned to Brown-Forman in 1997. It was at this time that he was chosen to train as a master distiller.
Chris has served on the boards of the Kentucky Distillers Association and the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. He has also had the honor to judge at the International Wine and Spirits Competition and the International Spirits Challenge.