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Hospitality Gems: Adrienne Stoner

Adrienne Stoner is a Rum Community Liaison, an educator and cane spirits advocate who helps connect the people to the rum. Working with Planteray they have so many different origins of rum in addition to their home production in Barbados and Jamaica. For Adrienne, it’s important for rum enthusiasts and rum rookies to understand that rum is more than rum. It’s more than differences in production methods. It’s a skill of science and art with each country’s rum imparting their own natural terroir, style, and culture to their rums. Adrienne spends a lot of time traveling throughout the Americas spreading the good word of rum.

Bartender Atlas: What’s your name?
Adrienne Stoner: Adrienne Desire Stoner

BA: Where were you born?
AS: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

BA: Where do you work now?
AS: Currently I work in Nashville. I’m new though. Since 2022.

BA: What is your work title?
AS: My title is Rum Community Liaison for the Americas

BA: Where do you go out to eat and drink on your nights off in Nashville?
AS: A lot of my nights off I am not at home. When I am home I don’t always go out. But I love Maiz De La Vida. It’s a new brick and mortar restaurant that was based off of a food truck that was in front of Chopper which is a great rum bar. It’s kind of a Nashville staple at this point.

BA: What do you do outside of work on your days off?
AS: I like to read. I read a lot of non-fiction. I like to go to the park. There are a lot of nice parks in Nashville and I want to take advantage of the weather and the nature that exists there that didn’t exist in Milwaukee or in Chicago. The midwest is cold.

BA: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?
AS: People don’t give me enough advice. I once had a co-worker tell me not to take things so seriously. Which, you know, in the moment, was a way to talk me down when things got intense at work. In this service/hospitality industry it’s easy to get really obsessive and sort of in your own way sometimes.

BA: What’s something you’re excited about?
AS: I am excited about travel. I’ve got some big plans for 2025. I want to see some new places and I have never been to Brazil and that’s finally going to happen.

Find Adrienne on Instagram

 

RETURN TO ALL HOSPITALITY GEMS


This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Posted December 8th, 2024