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Redemption Whiskey has hired Alan Kennedy as the brand’s new Master Blender. With nearly two decades of experience, Alan brings with him a strong foundation and deep passion for whiskey-making that stems from an extensive career in the culinary, hospitality, and wine and spirits industries. Alan will lead all aspects of production and innovation for Redemption, including its highly acclaimed classic whiskeys, specialty series whiskeys, Single Barrel Select program and coveted barrel proof whiskeys, as well as new limited-edition releases. Under the guidance of Alan, Redemption will continue its mission to revive rye to its former glory by bringing what used to be America’s most popular spirit before Prohibition back to the forefront of whiskey culture today with bold, spicy and ‘rye-forward’ whiskeys.
Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, Alan started his career as a classically trained pastry chef before shifting his focus to the world of wine and spirits. Alan credits his culinary training as a crucial foundational step for his career, noting the precision between science and art that serves him now more than ever in his role as Master Blender.
Training under revered distillers and blenders as he rose through the ranks, Alan gained a vast array of experience, mastering everything from hand picking the grains, to filling and rolling barrels, to learning the meticulous art of blending. In 2019, Alan was appointed Master Blender for Lexington Brewing & Distilling Company’s Town Branch Whiskey, making him one of the youngest up-and-coming Master Blenders on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail at the time. It was in this role that Alan realized his connection to whiskey-making went far beyond the technical aspects of its creation, and he began to focus on creating whiskeys that had “soul.” Relying on his senses – the feeling one gets on a hot summer day, or the memory a certain scent evokes – Alan has cultivated his own unique whiskey-making style, blending from the heart to create whiskeys that recall a memory or feeling and sharing them with the world. As Alan joins the Redemption team, he is dedicated to ensuring the highest quality and consistency of Redemption’s current offerings, while bringing new and innovative sensorial whiskeys to fans that take inspiration from the past, while reimaging rye for today.
“After learning about the first-of-its-kind Redemption Sur Lee innovation, it really changed my view on the possibilities about what rye whiskey could be,” said Kennedy. “The brand’s vision to restore rye whiskey to its pre-Prohibition glory by creating rye-forward whiskeys that showcase this exemplary grain is one I’m proud to shepherd, and I could not be more thrilled to join the Redemption Whiskey team as Master Blender. I look forward to continuing to tell Redemption’s story through our established expressions and the new ones we’ll create together.”
A perfectionist at heart, Alan is known to patiently sort through thousands of barrels to create the exact profile, and sense memory, that he’s looking for. This very approach, paired with Alan’s appreciation for rye-forward whiskeys, is what makes Alan the perfect fit for the Master Blender role at Redemption Whiskey.
“We’re in constant, relentless pursuit of making the best American Whiskey possible,” said Tom Steffanci, President of Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits. “Alan is exactly the right professional to help us achieve that goal as we dream up delicious and evocative rye-forward innovations.”
Based in Lexington, Kentucky, Alan succeeds Dave Carpenter, who previously served as Redemption’s Master Blender.
