Whisky woman is 'inspirational'

Gillian Howell is involved in the entire whisky-making process

A mid Wales whisky distiller has been named as one of the UK's most inspirational young businesswomen by a national magazine.

Gillian Howell, 26, a chemistry graduate, joined Penderyn Welsh Whisky Company in Brecon in 2004.

She is now said to be on her way to become the first master distiller in Wales for a century.

Previous names to appear on Management Today's "35 women under 35" list includes designer Stella McCartney.

Ms Howell joined Penderyn in 2004, after graduating from Cardiff University with first class honours.

She has the right sort of personality, and she takes on a lot of responsibility for someone who is only 26 Stephen Davies, Managing Director

She had not planned a career as a whisky distiller, but said the size of the company appealed to her initially.

She had worked for a large company during a work placement at university, and had felt like "a small cog in a very large" system.

"This is a lot more hands on," she explained. "There are loads of different aspects to the job, it's really varied."

Her main role is overseeing and managing the distillation process.

Male dominated

However, she is learning how to perform the "nosing and tasting", which does not involve drinking large quantities of the stock, as the whisky is mainly assessed through smell.

Management Today said the majority of women named on it list came from industries which were still largely male dominated, but Ms Howell said she had not found being female a drawback.

She aims to become Wales' only modern-day master distiller

"It's always nice to see people's reactions when they're introduced to you, as there's always an element of surprise, but it's not really a big issue," she said.

Her next goal is to become a "master distiller", and help make the company "something that Wales can be really proud of".

Penderyn managing director Stephen Davies said the firm was "absolutely delighted" she was on the list.

He said: "Penderyn is now being recognised around the world, and Gillian is a guardian of that."

He explained that Ms Howell's role required a number of qualities.

"It's a unique job, a combination of art and science," he explained.

"She has the right sort of personality, and she takes on a lot of responsibility for someone who is only 26," he added.