anyway to get a job in the industry?

[JAORobot]

okay, probably a stretch/longshot here..

i have fallen in love with whiskey, particularly american whiskey.. i have tried all types basically; and just find bourbon to be the best.. it strikes me as boldly "americana" as well as old world, AND beautifully delicious.

i am 24, and would LOVE to get a job in the industry, working at a distiller.. being part of the history, and the romance of it all..

where would i go to begin looking for jobs?

i was a business major in college; entrepreneurship to be exact, but.. i'd love to work on the inside more than any marketing/finance/business type position within one of these companies.. somewhere that i could really be part of what makes the company/heritage/bourbon so great..

if anyone has any tips/ideas, please drop them my way via this thread or PM..

otherwise, in the mean time, ill go about exploring some of the fine bourbons i have on my shelf, that each sip and shot seems to bring something new, along with a bit of history....

[cowdery]

With so few American whiskey distilleries there aren't a lot of production jobs to go around. Except for the people who got their jobs because their family has been doing this sort of thing for 200 years, the other people in those jobs have degrees in chemistry and industrial engineering. A few have gotten there by way of marketing and sales.

I think we may finally be seeing a true micro-distilling movement emerging out there and an interest in at least some of its participants in making whiskey. That will mean a few new jobs and probably opportunities for someone young and ambitious to get in on the ground floor of a new operation.

The easiest way to get into the liquor industry in general is to start in retail sales. Get to know the distributor and marketer reps who service your store and take it from there. That usually doesn't lead to a production job, but might lead you to something satisfying that is also more in keeping with your skills.