The Bourbon Baroness

Sharing Her Love for History and Bourbon

Bourbon carries a special history with it. Whether it be the history of the bourbon itself or the history of time shared with the people you love, it is so much more than a simple drink. In 2013, April Weller-Cantrell decided to acknowledge this truth and make it her career. Known in the bourbon world as the Bourbon Baroness, April has established her spot in the bourbon industry and has even started a blog, In the Glass & Beyond, to share her knowledge.

Inspired by her late father, Frankie Weller, April decided to start her blog in February of 2026. While she is just getting started on her blog, her knowledge runs deep. Being a Kentucky native with generational history in distilling, bourbon truly runs in her blood. She even spent a season in Williamson County at Leiper's Fork Distillery. Her blog serves as a platform for her to share two things she loves: history and bourbon. With a respect for tradition, April writes each blog to tell a story for the people who share the same passion.

While April’s blog focuses primarily on bourbon, we wanted to highlight a specific post for our Ladies Edition titled, “Not a Footnote: Women in the Architecture of American Whiskey”. In this post, April sets the record straight about when women entered the bourbon industry. She shares that “Women didn’t just show up to the bourbon party last week. We’ve been here since grain first met copper in the American colonies—when whiskey was coaxed from harvests in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and beyond. Long before visitor centers, tasting rooms or wax-dipped bottles, women were present. Before Kentucky claimed it, before Tennessee refined it, before the label mattered more than the barrel, we were there in the fields, in the still yards, and in the ledgers where every bushel and barrel was counted. We inherited land and managed estates, signed the paperwork and paid the taxes, guarded mash bills, and, when the world turned upside down, stepped up to take the reins. Some of us ran the stills. Some kept the money flowing. Some held family businesses together through war, fire and that long dry spell called Prohibition. Read the history closely, and you’ll see it plainly: women were not oddities in America’s whiskey story. We were part of its structure.” She also shares the stories of Catherine Spears Frye Carpenter, Mary Dowling, Louisa Nelson and Margaret “Margie” Mattingly Samuels, all of whom played a big part in how bourbon presented itself in the world.

This month, we highlight the women who are making a name for themselves, and April is making a big one. Her journey in the bourbon industry is a testament to passion, heritage and the importance of storytelling. Her work not only honors her family’s legacy but also elevates the voices of women who have shaped American bourbon. As April continues to share her wisdom, she inspires others to discover the richness behind every pour and to appreciate the stories that make bourbon much more than just a drink. 

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If you share April's passions, check out her blog at bourbonbaroness.com to 

learn more.