River Rock was specifically created in order to break down the traditional barriers of the single malt category. We wanted to address gender equality and bring to market a brand with universal appeal: a welcoming brand, rooted in the key issues of individuality and sustainability. These are issues with no gender bias, and which are incredibly important to all sectors of society going forward.
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2021, we wanted to shine a light on some of the fantastic women we work with on River Rock.
Founder Laura shares her views on what can be done to address the gender bias in the whisky industry. Whilst, in keeping with this year’s theme of #choosetochallenge, friends of River Rock, Mollie Hughes, Izzy Filor and Charlotte Workman all explain how they choose to challenge in their own respective fields
MOLLIE HUGHES – ADVENTURER, MOUNTAINEER AND MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER
"Mollie is the definition of role model: A truly inspirational woman who remains grounded and humble in spite of her exceptional achievements. Last year we were lucky to be joined by Mollie on a winter mountaineering adventure on Stob Ghabar to mark the launch of River Rock Batch 2 and are thrilled to now call her a friend."
About Mollie:
Mollie is a world record holding Mountaineer, Adventurer and Motivational Speaker based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
On Tuesday 16th May 2017, at 4:45am, in temperatures of minus 35°C, Mollie Hughes successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest from the North side. Achieving this feat at the age of 26 made her the youngest woman in the world and the first English woman to successfully summit from both the north and south sides of the world’s highest mountain.
In 2019 Mollie set off on her most ambitious expedition to date, skiing solo from the coast of Antarctica to the Geographic South Pole.
After 58.5 days and 650 hours of skiing alone in whiteouts, storm-force winds and temperatures hitting minus 45C, Mollie Hughes reached the Geographic South Pole on the 10th January 2020– achieving her second world record by becoming the youngest woman in the world to ski solo from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole.
Mollie’s Challenge:
“I choose to challenge by harnessing a positive mindset and resilience to achieve things others see as unachievable.”
IZZY FILOR – CONSERVATION OFFICER, JOHN MUIR TRUST
"A long time friend of the River Rock Team, Izzy has been instrumental in establishing the partnership with the John Muir Trust which sees us planting one tree for every bottle sold."
"Not only expert guiding the River Rock team when they are let loose to help with the planting, she is also happy to throw herself into most River Rock adventures. Coasteering or heading up snowy Munros – Izzy is always up for the challenge with a smile on her face."
About Izzy:
Izzy is a Conservation Officer for the John Muir Trust at East Schiehallion.
She spends her days planting, educating and guiding as part of the trust’s work to restore ancient woodlands, create new woodland and make sure that native trees are re-established on the iconic ‘Fairy Hill.'
The John Muir Trust, whose work seeks to defend wild land, enhance habitats and encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to connect with wild places, began planting on Schiehallion in 2018. To date they have planted over 10 thousand trees. The trees are all native and include a mix of Scots Pine, Rowan, Birch, Aspen, Oak, Cherry and Willow. The larger aim is for this planting to create a native woodland corridor in the area, linking up with existing woodland and new planting schemes on neighbouring land.
When she is not on Schiehallion, Izzy is generally found in the saddle cycling up some of Scotland’s most challenging mountains
Izzy's Challenge:
"I choose to challenge by influencing others to leave the world in a better place than how we found it. Be that environmentally, in the workplace or for friends and family"
CHARLOTTE WORKMAN – OWNER OF THE ADVENTURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
"Charlotte is the talent behind a lot of the River Rock photography, having beautifully captured our coasteering and mountaineering adventures hosted by friends, Ocean Vertical."
"A true force of nature, she devotes her time to photographing and protecting our planet. We count ourselves very lucky to work with Charlotte and are proud to be supporting her upcoming epic Greenland expedition."
About Charlotte:
Charlotte Workman is a free spirit with a camera, lover of the natural world, seeker of adrenaline and owner of The Adventure Photographers. Having grown up in the beauty of the Trossachs National Park, she has been moved to travel the world, exploring earth’s wild places as an adventure photographer & guide.
Charlotte is embarking on a 300+ mile split board journey through the remote wilderness of NE Greenland with two other adventurers in Spring 2022. She will capture this record breaking journey through her photography and an exciting adventure documentary film.
For Charlotte, it is a natural imperative to protect the wild world, and that’s why all profits of The Adventure Photographers are devoted to environmental conservation.
Charlotte’s Challenge:
“I choose to challenge the notion that an imbalanced system is a successful one! So for all of us to strive we must support the under represented, which too often is women. More specifically I would love to see more females in the outdoor guiding industry and taking leading roles in the outdoors"
LAURA ANDERSON – CO FOUNDER RIVER ROCK SINGLE MALT
"Laura is one of the founders of River Rock. Having spent 22 years working in whisky, an industry traditionally and notoriously dominated by men, she knows first hand that there are opportunities to redress the balance."
Laura on whisky:
There are few categories more closely linked to masculinity than whisky and so I welcome the current shift which sees more women taking up leadership positions within the industry. Distilleries such as NcNean and Penderyn are great examples of businesses with women in leadership roles.
However, I believe that more can be done to address the deeply entrenched stereotypes of the classic whisky drinker. Despite women drinking 40 million more glasses of whisky now than they did in 2010*, the industry has a lot of work to do to challenge the bias.
I love single malt, but for many people, it is a category which has so many barriers that they don’t relate or feel there is a place for them.
Some barriers relate to price, or taste but importantly, many of the barriers are down to how the brand is positioned in the world and how it communicates to consumers. There are no shortages of brands which feel the need to assert how ‘challenging’ they are and how ‘masculine’ you must be to drink them.
River Rock was specifically created in order to break down the traditional barriers of the single malt category. We wanted to address gender equality and bring to market a brand with universal appeal: a welcoming brand, rooted in the key issues of individuality and sustainability. These are issues with no gender bias, and which are incredibly important to all sectors of society going forward.
*Kantar
Laura’s Challenge:
“I choose to challenge the inherent gender stereotypes of the whisky industry by developing a brand which has universal appeal, and is founded on the principles of being welcoming, inclusive and sustainable”
Thank you to Mollie, Izzy and Charlotte for agreeing to be featured – You Women Rock!
Thank you to @Georgeyatescanyon for the photo of Charlotte paddle-boarding.
Photo of Laura on Schiehallion: River Rock team
All other photos: The Adventure Photographers