It was only supposed to be a temporary job until Kaylin Pulley finished her degree in human development and family sciences. 

Then, there was a detour that led her to become the production manager at Weldon Mills Distillery and earn this year’s title of International Woman Distiller of the Year.

“I wanted to be either a speech and hearing pathologist or a child life specialist,” the Roanoke Rapids native and ECU graduate said Tuesday. “Most of my degree was surrounded by child development.”

For the part-time job at Weldon Mills, she worked as a distiller’s hand, helping with processing, bottling, labeling, and paperwork.

The late Master Distiller Mike Norman and Lead Distiller Andrew Daniel both knew she wasn’t going to be there for the long haul. “They really didn’t want to put in a lot of time teaching me distilling.”

But with only four people in production, she began picking up on things quickly and it stuck — becoming a distiller and then earning a promotion to production manager. “That’s kind of when I saw the future here.”

It was hands-on learning, and she eventually got to the point where she could do a whole cook on her own. “That’s basically when they gave me the distiller title.”

And after becoming production manager, she saw this as her future. “It just felt like a family here. I didn’t want to leave because I loved everybody around me. I was grateful that they trusted me and taught me everything I know.”

Her journey in the distilling world comes at a time when Weldon Mills has earned many awards. “Every day we’re growing. Production is growing and we’re having to navigate that. Our sales are growing tremendously.”

Her work paid off this year as she won the fifth annual International Women’s Spirits Competition as best woman distiller.

It is the bourbon produced at Weldon Mills that helped her capture the title, as well as the mentorship of Norman, who passed away in December 2024. “Everything we do here is Mike Norman’s way. None of us knew anything about distilling until we worked here and worked under Mike. He did things the right way — the proper methods, the proper cuts. He didn’t take any shortcuts. He was meticulous with his recipes. That’s what got us here, what got me this award, and what has given us all these awards that we’ve been given.”

She has dedicated her award to Norman's honor. “At the beginning, he was very private about his recipes and how the process went. Once it got to the point where he trusted me enough to teach me things and teach me his process, that meant the world to me. He was so private about everything. He wanted to keep his secret, his secret. He only trusted a few people with his secrets.”

While honored to win the award, Kaylin said, “It’s a testament to everybody who’s gotten me to where I am today.”

The daughter of Sonya Tart and Jonathan Pulley, she said, “I’m just really happy to be where I am today. I’m proud to be a distiller at Weldon Mills, and I’m proud to be a production manager at Weldon Mills. I’m happy with how everything is right now with the people I work with.”

Everyone has been excited for her, she said. “I’m really blessed to have all the support from everybody around here.”

Bruce Tyler, one of the owners of the distillery, said, “This award only confirms what we knew about Kaylin since she first joined the team. Kaylin is hardworking, intelligent, and a great person. We are very fortunate to have her on our team and are confident she will continue to excel in the industry.”

And for Kaylin, it’s all about the team. “The award might have my name on it, but it’s a testament to everyone that’s gotten me here.”

She now sees this as her career in a field that is typically male-dominated.

While there are no hard statistics, only estimates, women distillers make up the minority, and Kaylin would like to see more enter the field. “I think women should feel like they are capable of doing anything that the men are doing. They’re capable of making an incredible bourbon or any kind of spirit they want to.”

And that’s exactly what Kaylin is doing, currently aging her own recipe — one that she hopes will have a taste akin to Golden Grahams cereal after its two-year aging process. “That is the palate I want. I want Golden Grahams cereal.”

Daniel said he is proud of Kaylin’s accomplishment. “She learned the way to do it from a master distiller. This is an art and you get attached to the product. She probably knew she was in a great situation like me to learn under this master distiller and take this to the next level.”

Kaylin said her success in the field and the overall success of the distillery can all be traced back to Norman. “Even after Mike passed away, we’re keeping his tradition going. We’re making sure we’re doing things exactly like he did them because we don’t want to change any of it.”