Tom Nichol boasts a distinguished career spanning over five decades in the distilling industry. Starting in 1973 at Distillers Co. Ltd, which later became part of Diageo, Nichol spent 42 years with the company, mastering the crafts of whisky, neutral spirit, vodka, and gin production. His tenure at Diageo culminated in his appointment as Master Distiller for Tanqueray. Before retiring in 2015, Nichol was honored with the second-ever Lifetime Achievement Award from the Gin Guild in London. Retirement, however, marked not an end but a transition. Nichol swiftly moved into consulting, joining J. Rieger & Co in Kansas City upon the recommendation of his friend, Steve Olsen. He soon became a partner, considering the Rieger team his "second family." Nichol's expertise has also led to collaborations with several notable distilleries, including City of London Distillery, Harrogate Tipple, Brentingby Gin, Distillery Gin du Mont Blanc, and more recently, a venture with the Perrin family and Brad Pitt to produce The Gardener Gin.