{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Ep 9, pt 1 \u2013 Becky Paskin: Drinks journalist, change maker, and heavy lifter","description":"Welcome back to Cheers with Nat \u2013 the podcast dedicated to cheering on women in drinks. Today\u2019s guest is Becky Paskin, drinks journalist and founder of The OurWhisky Foundation. We had so much to talk about, this episode will be coming at you in two parts! In this first half, Becky tells us how she got her start as a drinks writer, what it takes to make a living as one today, what an editor actually does, and why she believes they don\u2019t get nearly enough credit. We also dig into her distilling qualifications \u2013 why she pursued them and how they\u2019ve informed her work. Lastly, we explore why she\u2019s such a passionate advocate for diversity within the drinks industry, along with the work she\u2019s doing to drive real change.   What stuck with me from this conversation On looking back: \u201cWe can always look back on what could have been, but so long as you\u2019re always following your heart and your interests and what makes you happy, I don\u2019t think you\u2019re ever going to regret your decisions.\u201d On being an editor: \u201c\u2026a lot of people think that\u2019s a really glamorous thing and that the best thing you could possibly be doing is writing, but I genuinely think editing is a much greater skill.\u201d On the advice she received after gaining her qualifications: \u201c\u2019Learn it, have it under your belt, but forget about it.\u2019 So I\u2019ve tried my best over the years to just think simply, just break it down and create frameworks and systems within the way I speak about whisky to simplify it for audiences as much as possible, while still making everything true.\u201d On the importance of diversity: \u201cI feel like no two people have the same palate and it\u2019s all based on experience, and that\u2019s why diversity in drinks is so important because people bring different experiences of different flavours to the table\u2026 I think we should be celebrating individuality a lot more than we actually do within the drinks industry.\u201c On the OurWhisky mentees: \u201cI\u2019m so proud of all of them. Somebody said, can you give me an idea of a success story from the Atonia Programme and I said, I can\u2019t give you just one. There are so many of them \u2013 250 women have gone through our programme and they\u2019re all doing amazing things and I\u2019m proud of each and every one of them.\u201d   Links & things What we\u2019re drinking: A 2015 sample bottle of Bruichladdich\u2019s A Final Act of Creation, a 23-year old aged whisky aged in a Ch\u00e2teau Latour Wine Cask Where Becky\u2019s worked: Big Hospitality, now Restaurant Spirits Business ScotchWhisky.com Her \u2018hats\u2019: Drinks journalist, presenter and consultant The OurWhisky Foundation Atonia Programme for mentorship The Modern Face of Whisky image library Do You Even Like Whisky? report Drink This Qualifications Becky holds: NCTJ Diploma in Journalism CIBD General Certificate in Distilling WSET Level 3 Award in Spirits People shout outs: Jim McEwan, who gifted Becky the whisky we\u2019re tasting Alan Whichester, who supported Becky during her GCD studies Dr. Nick Morgan, who gave Becky some advice after completing her GCD Dhavall Ghandi, who Becky mentions during our discussion about the importance of diversity in drinks, especially when it comes to tasting Lucy Cox, founder of The Academe who runs The Power Room for Becky\u2019s mentees Millie Milliken, who works with Becky on The OurWhisky Foundation More to follow soon from part 2\u2026   Recording info March 2026 at PLATF9RM in Brighton   Subscribe | Follow on Instagram | Email ","author_name":"Cheers with Nat","author_url":"https:\/\/cheerswithnat.substack.com\/","html":"