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GINS 4 2 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t W elsh-born, Irish-raised Riannon Walsh has always lived by her nose. And recently, that nose has led her to co-found a new craft distillery in Elverson, Pennsylvania. Even before she was old enough to drink, Walsh was taught by a friend how to professionally sniff or "nose" whiskey, an outgrowth, she says, of her youthful interest in herbs and aromas. "I've always had a fascination with gardening and food, and that led to whiskey," Walsh says. At 18, she came to the United States to study psychology and business at Boston University. She relocated to Philadelphia to attend graduate school but gradually drifted into the whiskey busi- ness in the 1980s, working as a brand ambassador and also searching out old barrels of Scotch for a company doing private labeling. Ahead of Her Glass A big leap was founding the Whiskies of the World Wine Expo in 1999 in San Francisco, which proved to be hugely successful and allowed her to again follow her nose as a judge. Along the way, she also designed a special nosing glass for whiskies. But Walsh had another side of her personal- ity, a more domestic spirit. In 1988, she and her former husband purchased a 42-acre farm with a 300-year-old Pennsylvania farmhouse in Chester County, about 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia. There she was able to indulge in her passions for competitive riding and serious gardening. She also gathered around her a menagerie of animals, including Mythic Isara, her Morgan horse that she rides in competition—"the best horse I've ever owned," she says. "My farm is just about six miles down the road," Walsh explains as she walks through her small but busy RIANNON WALSH NOSES HER WAY INTO THE CRAFT DISTILLING BUSINESS Straight from the Farm by Roger Morris GINS