Sponsored article: Celebrating influential women across the drinks industry

Victoria Bonnar 

Cask Custodian at Annandale Distillery

How long have you been in the industry? 

On and off since the financial crash in 2008.

What is the best thing about working in the licensed trade?

The people. The whisky industry community and whisky drinkers are special.

In the industry I would like to think there’s a comradery. Annandale founder, Professor David Thompson has lent members of his production team out to help others whilst members of our team have been nurtured away from home as well.

Whisky drinkers are loyal fans unlike any other, in my opinion. If they like your story and like what you do they pass that passion on. I have met so many people/clients/friends from word of mouth alone. It makes me feel proud of what I do and happy that the love I have for my job and the brand is passed on through my story telling.

What challenges have you faced as a woman working in the industry?

When I first started out as a whisky tour guide at the Scotch Whisky Experience, I would get the occasional aficionados try to humiliate me or challenge me with outlandish questions, this only encouraged me to know my stuff, delve deeper into the whisky world, and it’s served me well.

I now work for Annandale Distillery and I hope that I have acquired a decent knowledge to support my views on cask related matters.

I would like to add, I was very happy to find my all-male production team colleagues and Distillery Manager, Mark Trainor, very supportive during and after my pregnancy.

Who have been the most influential mentors in your career so far, and what did you learn from them?

Lenka Whyles at the Scotch Whisky experience got me started with a glass of Laphroaig on my first day. The whole team sat together sharing tasting notes. SWE is very good at fostering passion and knowledge, many of the alumni end up going on to work in some capacity in the trade.

The team at Annandale from production to warehousing, all have stopped to answer my questions or work with me on something.

Annandale founders David Thompson and Teresa Church for pushing me forward and supporting me.

I was invited to join the sensory panel by David. The panel’s job is to assess casks ready for bottling, this is an important part of the process as we only bottle single cask single malt, you could say that it exposes us so it’s very important to get it right.

I have learned a great deal from my panel colleagues particularly Master Blender, Keith Law, who is also great fun.

Our former Distillery Manager nurtured my passion for oak and allowed me the opportunity to expand our oak programme.

What advice would you give a young woman starting out in hospitality in 2026?

Ask questions, and actively listen, showing willingness to learn, build relationships that open doors, often unexpectedly, often when you least expect it.

Find Annandale Distillery on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram