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Our Team

Editor In Chief

Mark Littler is the owner and editor in chief of the Whiskey Wash.  He is also the owner of Mark Littler LTD, a prominent whisky and antiques brokerage service in the United Kingdom.  Mark is a well known voice in the whisky industry and has a regular column at Forbes.com and has a popular YouTube channel devoted to everything whisky.

Mark completed the purchase of The Whiskey Wash in late 2023.

Chief Morale Officer & Head of Tennis Ball Operations

Percy, our resident whippet, takes his office duties as seriously as his tennis ball pursuits.

He’s an indispensable part of the team. Beyond his athletic endeavors, Percy’s daily tasks include the strategic deconstruction of cardboard, the occasional bin inspection (often from the inside out), and ensuring every visitor is met with a wagging tail and a warm welcome. In short, Percy is the heart and soul of our office antics.

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti is the founder of The Whiskey Wash and heads the US reivews.

As a whisk(e)y journalist, expert and judge he has written about the subject extensively, been interviewed in various media outlets and provided tasting input on many whiskeys at competitions. He also maintains a large private collection of whiskey from which he continually educates his palate on this brown spirit type.

Beth Squires

Beth Squires became a part of the Mark Littler LTD team in 2020 after graduating from Keele University. Since then she has made remarkable progress and is now their Senior Bottle Specialist and full time content writer.  

Beth has a passion for old and rare bottles of Scotch, with a particular affection for the old style Cadenhead Dumpy bottles.

Hannah Thompson

Hannah joined the Mark Littler LTD team in 2019 and has been helping to demystify the cask buying and selling process for our clients ever since.  She is an expert on everything cask investment related.

Hannah is also a published writer having two books under her pen name, and has provided hundreds of articles about whisky bottles and casks for Mark Littler LTD.

Phil Dwyer

Phil Dwyer is part of our UK review team and is the man behind successful whisky review  YouTube and Instagram platform Whisky Wednesday where he samples a dram each week from different distilleries all around the world.

Phil also manages the Whisky Shop Manchester stocking some of the best drams on the market.

Vin PF

Vin PF is one of our UK based reviewers.  You may know him as the face of the No Nonsense Whisky whisky channel.

His channel focuses on whisky reviews and livestreams, providing honest and straightforward content that cuts through the chaff. With Vin’s reviews you can expect short, easy-to-digest content that get straight to the point.

He prides himself on being approachable and relaxed, without any pretentiousness.

Gary Carter

Gary Carter has been at the helm of metro newspapers, magazines, and television news programs as well as a radio host and marketing manager. He is a writer/editor/photographer/designer by trade, with more than 30 years experience in the publishing and marketing field. Gary enjoys working to build something great, whether that be a novel project, a start-up, an organization, a fresh-face to the journalistic world, or even something as simple as a short story. A native Texan and a Pacific Northwest convert, he is a whiskey enthusiast who cut his teeth on it … literally!

Steve Coomes

Steve Coomes is an award-winning journalist and book author specializing in whiskey and food. In his 30-year career, he has edited and written for national trade and consumer publications including USA Today, Southern Living, Delta Sky Magazine, Nation’s Restaurant News, Pizza Today, Restaurant Business, Bourbon + and American Whiskey magazine. In 2013, he authored “Country Ham: A Southern Tradition of Hogs, Salt & Smoke,” and in 2020, he authored “The Rebirth of Bourbon: Building a Tourism Economy in Small-Town USA.” When not writing about food and drink, he leads large-scale, intimate and virtual food and spirits

Ian Arnold

Ian Arnold was a bartender for 8 years. Having worked in California, Australia, and Portland, he last bartended at the Multnomah Whisk(e)y Library. He was part of the Oregon Bartenders’ Guild’s leadership and was a judge for multiple cocktail competitions. He now works in the IT field and continues to use his bartending skills to entertain guests. When off of work he will often be found playing board games and sipping on Japanese Whisky.

Larissa Banitt

Larissa Banitt is a writer and nurse born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. She’s a foodie, whisk(e)y nerd, and animal lover. You’ll often find her hiking with her dog, trail-riding with her horse, or crocheting with her cats.

Cindy Capparelli

Cindy Capparelli started the Portland Bitters Project in 2014 with the vision to create the best bitters on the market. Now her bitters are enjoyed around the country and internationally to make expressive, delicious cocktails. She teaches at two Portland colleges and visits private groups, distilleries and maker’s spaces to spread the gospel of high-quality ingredients and time-honored technique. Cindy gives her students the confidence and knowledge to stir up a drink at home, experiment with tinctures or just more fully enjoy their food and beverage experiences.

Talia Gragg

Talia Gragg is part of the Portland service industry community, and an alumna of the Multnomah Whiskey Library. She’s an avid spirit and cocktail enthusiast, and likes to experience them both academically and recreationally. When not sipping whiskey she’s a ceramic artist and lover of travel.

Courtney Kristjana

Courtney Kristjana’s opinions may be strong like the peat in her scotch, but she guarantees honesty and integrity all the while keeping an open mind. It’s tiresome having to prove her credentials and worth as a woman in the liquor industry, especially when it comes to drinking whiskey, but it does not stop her from pursuing happiness one dram at a time. When not bartending or writing whiskey reviews, Courtney is usually found knitting, watching horror movies, or bouldering.

James Logan

James Logan, in his mid 20’s, developed a deep love of whiskey based drinks. After receiving a bottle of 15 year old Scotch whiskey as a birthday present, he soon began a yearly ritual of trying a new brand of Scotch whiskey every year. He thoroughly enjoyed sampling each new brand and age, and comparing them with the previous year’s selection. While no expert in whiskey or writing, James hopes his ‘average guy’ status and mentality will help reach others who are just starting their journey into whiskeys, and give them a little helping hand that he missed out on when he started his journey.

Devon Lyon

Devon Lyon has spent the past two decades producing video content as well as writing copy and scripts for clients around the globe. But no matter how strong his natural wanderlust, it’s the Pacific Northwest he calls home. Whether it’s the growing local craft spirit scene, world-class wines, or a brewery on every corner, life on the “best” coast isn’t too bad a spot to sit back and enjoy a sip. And nothing sips better than whiskey. Devon spends his free time working to master his Hasselblad medium format 501cm camera, fly fishing, snowshoeing and traveling internationally with his partner and his daughter.

Jason McBeth

Jason McBeth is a hospitality professional and consultant with nearly 15 years experience in fine dining beverage programs, including six different Michelin Star and/or James Beard award-winning restaurants. As a consultant he has developed and set up unique cocktail programs in markets from Los Angeles, to Lincoln, NE to Richmond, VA. He loves poetry and basketball with equal fervor and when not immersed in the world of spirits or hospitality, he would prefer to spend his evenings shucking oysters for his wife and washing them down with a bottle or two of grower Champagne.

Carin Moonin

A decade ago, Carin Moonin traded a 5th floor walkup in Hoboken, NJ for a house in SE Portland and remain grateful for the swap. Carin feels Portland’s a great whiskey town: It fits the weather and her general mood (even improves it sometimes). She enjoys exploring the many shades of brown liquor and learning what it can do for her. Carin has written for publications including Salon.com, DailyDot.com, Willamette Week, Portland Monthly, and more. When she’s not drinking whiskey or writing about it, she can be found running, reading, or seeking out free samples in grocery stores.

Scott Bernard Nelson

Reporting and writing has taken Scott Bernard Nelson all over the world, giving him an opportunity to cover everything from 9/11 to an Olympic Games to the invasion of Iraq. These days, he’s retired from daily journalism but still enjoys talking with interesting people and writing fun stories. When he’s not dabbling in short fiction or screenplays, you’ll probably find Scott rock climbing or fly fishing in the Pacific Northwest – and, whenever possible, drinking great whiskies.

Jeffrey Nitschke

Jeffrey Nitschke is Portland area attorney whose career has dovetailed with a love of fine spirits and cigars. With no formal training in the field. his own interest spurred a thorough education through books, articles, visits to distilleries all over the United States, and a few deep dives into Wikipedia. Outside of his career and ever escalating pursuit of good whiskey, Jeff can be found enjoying CrossFit, gardening, and playing music.

Ryan O'Doherty

Ryan O’Doherty is born and raised in Portland, Oregon. A former distiller at Jackson Hole Still Works in Wyoming, he is a fan of whiskey, golf, and especially whiskey and golf together.

Jerry Sampson

Jerry Sampson is a freelance writer, editor and screenwriter. Her creative work is ever improved by her love of whiskey and craft cocktails. She enjoys taking cool fall days to explore the great distilleries around Portland to get a closer look at the inner workings of her favorite spirits.

Austin Scarberry

Austin Scarberry is a writer and pastry chef based in Portland, Oregon. He uses his experience in the culinary industry to inform his reviews, letting the gentle thoughtfulness he learned from baking guide his work. Outside of The Whiskey Wash, he mainly writes poetry and fantasy/sci-fi. You can find his other work in Sci-Phi Journal or Oprelle Publications’ poetry anthology “Matter — 2021 Edition II”. Follow him on Twitter @ScarberryWrites.

Taylor Shiells

Taylor Shiells is a writer, researcher, and whiskey enthusiast. He came to Portland in pursuit of higher education, and found himself staying to pursue the Pacific Northwest’s wide range of olfactory offerings. He’s a fan of craft beer, farm to table food, indie perfume, and, most of all, whiskey. While he provides technical research to the entertainment industry by day, the Whiskey Wash gives him the opportunity to explore his passion, hone his palate, and practice a more flavorful form of writing.

Charles Steele

Charles Steele is a Portland area attorney, born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. His legal education affords him an analytical approach to understanding whiskey and other aged spirits. Traditionally a legal writer, freelancing for The Whiskey Wash will prove a unique opportunity to flex his writing skills. Although he prefers whiskey and whiskey based cocktails, he has a profound affection for all unique and strange liquors from Malort to Ojen, if it’s odd he wants it.

Joshua Wilford

Joshua Wilford has been in the restaurant business for the past two decades. His time in the industry includes working in leadership roles at bourbon bars in and around Kentucky as well as the iconic Multnomah Whiskey Library in Portland, OR. Joshua has received certifications from The Wine & Spirit Education Trust as well as The Filson Historical Society in Louisville, KY.

Jennifer Williams

Jennifer Williams is a former Dallas, Texas bartender of 15 years where she developed an appreciation for patrons with a healthy respect for great whiskey. She moved to Portland, Oregon in 2019 where she graduated from Portland State University as an English Literature major with a minor in Writing. While at PSU, she served as the Arts & Culture editor for the college’s monthly magazine, The Pacific Sentinel, in her final term. She is a voracious reader, an outdoor runner, dabbles in photography, and adores classic jazz. Jennifer is always up for a whiskey and great conversation with old friends from Texas as well as the many new ones she’s made since relocating to Oregon.

Jacob Wirt

Jacob Wirt’s past lives as a cook and cultural studies researcher continue to inform his appreciation of fermented grain beverages- not (only) because these professions might drive one to drink, but because they offer a reminder of the knowledge, work, and history that makes every glass possible. His first love was homebrewing beer, and he finds that whiskey rewards that same curiosity in how techniques, ingredients, and variables combine to make each expression unique.