Jillian Vose
Author | Bartender | Beverage Director
Drinks & Spirits Consultant,
Owner & Operator of Hazel &Apple
Co-founder Outwalker Irish Whiskey
Partner and brand Ambassador for Badger Bevs cocktail mixers
During her 20 years in the food & beverage business, Jillian Vose has come up through the ranks with hard work, education, and creativity. Jillian recently relocated from her 12-year tenure in New York City to Charleston, South Carolina, to co-open her first properly owned bar,
Hazel & Apple Fall, 2024. The 8,000-square-foot bar will cater to the Charleston community, offering elevated drinks and bites in three different settings throughout the space. ‘The Hazel’ will be the front bar where a high-end diner meets an Irish pub feel. The second space, ‘The Apple’, will focus on cocktails, including seasonal drinks and stunning glassware to feature what Jillian does best, drink creations, and unique menus. The back patio will be an extension of ‘The Apple’ in a beautiful garden setting.
Recently, in October 2023, she launched Outwalker Irish Whiskey in Ireland, where she is a co-founder and solely responsible for creating the blend. She and her partners look forward to bringing the brand global over the next few years. Also, in 2023, she partnered with Badger Bevs, a new luxury domestic soda mixer company where she claims the role of an Ambassador for the brand as well as a vested partner. The brand plans to expand across the U.S in the
coming years. Before leaving New York City, Jillian was the Beverage director and a managing partner at The Dead Rabbit in Lower Manhattan. The bar won eight Spirited Awards from Tales of theCocktail, including World’s Best Bar, the U.S. industry’s highest accolade. Jillian was instrumental in creating the bar’s iconic drinks menus, one of which won the World’s Best Cocktail Menu in 2015. In 2016, The Dead Rabbit was named World’s Best Bar under hertenure by World’s 50 Best Bars and Tales of the Cocktail. In 2017, Jillian was named one of the 10 Best American Bartenders 2017 in the Spirited Awards from Tales of The Cocktail and then a top 4 finalist in 2018 & 2019.Jillian has traveled the world contributing to industry seminars on a variety of topics, managing pop-ups, and guest bartending. Over the past many years, she has bartended in London, Edinburgh, Tel Aviv, Athens, Tokyo, Paris, Stockholm, New Orleans, Shanghai, Oslo,Beirut, Dubai, Belfast, Iceland, Hong Kong, and many more. She is also a co-author of “TheDead Rabbit Mixology & Mayhem” which was published in October 2018, ’Paddy Drinks: Modern Irish Whiskey Cocktails 2022, and ‘When Whiskey Met its Match: How the IrishCoffee Captivated the World in 2022.’Previously, in 2010, Jillian was Bar Manager at Death & Co NYC, where she was responsible for menu development. Jillian also won the 2013 Rising Stars award from Star Chefs. She joined Death & Co after a stint at Maison Premiere, which she helped open in early 2011.At the age of 24, she received her Level One Court of Master Sommeliers Certificate in Boston, and after a few weekend visits to New York, she knew it was where she needed to be. She subsequently took the BAR 5-Day Course. Acceptance was granted, and the networking and education received from the course are still paying off to this day. She would later serve on the judging panel, invited by Paul Pacult, for the Ultimate Spirits Competition (USC) inupstate NY for 2016, 2017, and 2018. She’s also judged competitions such as Diplomatico Rum World Finals (London), The Bartenders Society (Paris), and many local NYC & Charleston competitions.Jillian’s initiation into the world of hospitality and spirits began while working in the fine dining establishments of Elements & Jade Bar at the Sanctuary Resort in Paradise Valley, Ariz. It was there that she was introduced to fine wine, food, and craft cocktails. Her interest inelevated libations, technique, and cuisine developed while studying Hospitality Administration at Northern Arizona University and working at Four Peaks Brewing Co. in Tempe, Ariz. Jillian grew up in a small beach town in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.