Asko’s road to becoming our Master Distiller was paved with chance and coincidence. One of his first jobs working at Alko (the national alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly in Finland) sparked an interest in manufacturing alcoholic beverages. Once he had graduated with a degree in hospitality management, Asko planned to become a brewer in a microbrewery. As it happened, the Teerenpeli Distillery offered him the opportunity to make Finnish whisky. He never looked back. Later on, he learned more visiting various distilleries in Finland and abroad, and nowadays Asko runs his own distillation courses. After ten years of living elsewhere, he began to miss the familiar fells and nature of North Karelia, his home. “Luckily, my childhood friends were crazy enough to set up a distillery in Ilomantsi.” Back in the woodlands of his home town with his family, the Master Distiller doesn’t regret a thing.