I didn’t think being a woman in the liquor industry would challenge my identity.

I held leadership roles at my all-girls school for seven years. In college I was the president of my sorority. I published a thesis with a nationally acclaimed female political science professor.

But at major whiskey conventions, people call me the shots girl, grown men look down my shirt. Someone once asked if my dad owned the business.

There are times I’d look back on my prior life and think, “Maybe that’s just not who I am anymore.”

But one night, I commanded the room. I spoke about the science of whiskey and reverse osmosis. I spoke about the passion, the fight, the spirit in each one of my teammates and why I come to work every day.

It was a room full of men. And afterward, each one of them shook my hand.

Everyday someone is going to think I’m the hired help. And every day is a chance to prove them wrong.