Whisky Voices: Sarah Jeltema

This interview is part of my ongoing Whisky Voices Series, where I sit down with leading voices in the whisky world, from distillers and writers to ambassadors and innovators, to capture their unfiltered thoughts on heroes, villains, surprises, trends, and wishes.

This time I spoke with Sarah Jeltema, widely known in the whisky world as The Whisky Nomad. She is a whisky writer, educator and consultant who has spent years exploring distilleries and whisky cultures across the globe while documenting production practices and flavour traditions. Through her writing, tastings and industry collaborations, she has become a strong advocate for transparency, education and deeper technical understanding in whisky.

Whisky Hero

“I don’t just have one,” Sarah explained. “I really admire the educators and producers who choose accuracy over hype.”

For her, the true heroes of whisky are those who quietly preserve production knowledge, historical context and technical integrity.

“People doing the unglamorous work of documenting and protecting whisky traditions, even when it’s less marketable.”

Whisky Villain

“Marketing that replaces substance with symbolism!”

She sees this particularly in travel retail releases.

“Every limited release becomes a mythical object or luxury product, yet there’s little explanation of how it actually differs from the core whisky; in raw materials, distillation, or maturation.”

The result, she argues, is a shift away from understanding whisky itself.

“When narrative and packaging do all the work, drinkers are taught to buy stories instead of understanding whisky.”

Whisky Surprise

For Sarah, the biggest surprises rarely involve rare bottles.

“Whisky conversations become much better when ego leaves the room.”

Some of her most memorable moments came from simple, affordable whiskies that people genuinely enjoy.

“Mellow Corn or Old Overholt, anyone?”

Whisky Trend

“Transparency and education. People want to know why a whisky tastes the way it does, not just whether it’s good.”

Whisky Wish

“That whisky continues to become a space where curiosity is valued more than authority. If more people felt comfortable asking questions instead of trying to prove knowledge, whisky would be healthier and far more fun for everyone.”

Sláinte!
- Thomas