Joy Spence - The world's first female master celebrates 40 years with Appleton Estate

It’s only fitting that the world’s first female master blender’s name is Joy. Rum, after all, can be such a delight.

With a love for chemistry, apt sensory skills, a photographic memory, and excellent drive, Joy Spence has, in her 40 years with Appleton Estate, helped to uplift the appreciation for the premium rum brand all over the world. Yet as Spence tells it, in the early years, she could have never envisioned that this would be her story.

As a baby, Spence’s biological mother was not in a position to take care of her and had to put her up for adoption. Seated in a room at the lavish Joy Spence Appleton Estate Rum Experience (JSAERE) in St Elizabeth, the master blender shares that she considers her adoption a blessing as she gained two fabulous parents and got the name Joy after her adopted mother dubbed her as such because of the happiness she brought to her life. Her parents were always strong on education and ensured that she had everything needed to excel in school. However, little did they know that Spence had an edge up on her contemporaries with a photographic memory that allowed her to recall lessons with ease. So much so that she graduated with first-class honours and topped her class in chemistry.

She thought she would be a doctor but later realised that she wasn’t cut out for the trauma involved. Years later, as a research chemist at Tia Maria, she started to crave more from her job and would look across the fence at Appleton Estate’s parent company, J. Wray and Nephew, constantly wondering, ‘what if ’? She took a leap of faith and sent her résumé over to the liquor czar but was informed that there were no openings. Still, J. Wray and Nephew was so impressed by her that they created the position of chief chemist for her to modernise their laboratory a few weeks later.

While HR thought she might quickly get bored and leave, former Appleton Estate master blender Owen Tulloch took Spence under his wing and introduced her to everything about rum, including flavour profiles, the manufacturing process, and how to blend.

Spence remembers when Tulloch reached 40 years at the company and never thought she would do the same. Then October 2021 hit. She did the math and couldn’t believe it: 40! “It just looked like yesterday when I joined the company in 1981,” she says with a smile.

Surrounded by bottles of rum, Spence divulges that she wasn’t always a rum drinker. Back in the day, drinking rum as a female was considered to be unladylike. We’re happy times have changed, but when not drinking rum, Spence says she will opt for a glass of red wine, mostly a Shiraz.

As a wife, mother, and new grandmother with a high-demand job, our conversation organically turns to how she has been able to balance her work life with family. Spence says that it hasn’t been easy but that she found ways to make it all function, especially when her children were young, by working through her lunch breaks to ensure that she could make time for the family, do nursery school pick-ups, and help with homework. “I never ever wanted to say if I knew. I wanted to be a complete part of their development, so I had to balance it.”

A lover of dancing and music, Spence is also a philanthropist who helps young ladies realise their dreams. Still, she says that she never set out to be the world’s first female master blender, and it wasn’t until she was informed that she – a lady from Jamaica - was indeed the first that she was made aware of the historical moment. “I was able to break the glass ceiling for other women in the industry, and now, there are more and more women – especially in the Caribbean – being appointed master blenders, and I’m so happy for that.”

Seeing people all over the world sipping on rum that she has blended brings “a sense of pride”. As Spence takes a quick pan of JSAERE, she says, “Never in my wildest dreams could I have ever believed that they would name the experience in my honour. Even when they told me they would rename the facility in my honour, I couldn’t believe it and cried tears of joy.”

With her experience, specific skill set, and determination, there is no doubt that other companies wouldn’t try to scout her over the years. Admitting that she had her share of professional suitors with attractive packages, Spence says: “I just had that passion for Appleton Estate. It became a part of my DNA, and I was just extremely loyal to the company and decided that this is where I want to be. This is where I want to see the future and grow the Appleton Estate brand.”

So much can happen in 40 years, and a lot has happened for Spence. What’s next? With no signs of retiring in the immediate future, she says, “I want to see Appleton Estate become the leader in the premium aged rum category.” Pausing to reflect, she adds, “I want to see that.”

debra.edwards@gleanerjm.com