Jay Bradley

An entrepreneur from an early age, Jay joined the full-time workforce at the age of 14. He honed his skills as a furniture craftsman by day and a bartender by night. At 19 he moved into sales and quickly rose through the ranks from salesman to sales manager, building a team, person by person, of 20 commission only sales people breaking many company records along the way. At 21 Jay travelled through Australia opting for work back in the hospitality industry and was a manager for Irish bars and restaurants. At 23 Jay was now married with two young children, his eldest daughter was battling cancer. Jay decided to start his first business due to wanting a better financial life for his family and to be able to afford better medical care.

Over the next 20 years, he gained the skills and experience that would lay the foundations for building The Craft Group which includes companies such as CRAFT Irish Whiskey, Whiskey & Wealth Club and Le Portier Cognac. Gaining 20 years as a CEO and time as a salesman, marketing specialist, restaurateur, mixologist, cook and BBQ Pitmaster. The later winning 1st place trophies against some of the top Pitmasters on earth.

Launching his first company in 2005 Jay honed his talent for scaling sales operations to greater heights, building the team to over 400 professionals and revenue to $76m per annum as the sales arm for major brands such as Amex and O2. As the Founder of Whiskey & Wealth Club and Founder and CEO of The Craft Irish Whiskey Co., Jay is dedicated to raising the profile of Irish whiskey and achieving his goal of restoring it as a global leader. His appreciation for flavour comes from a long lineage of spice blenders and chefs including his grandfather and father. Combined with his history in the hospitality space and his background in professional BBQ competitions, this gave Jay a detailed and scientific understanding of the constituents of wood, he developed a unique methodology of adding flavour and complexity to whiskey. Such methods have never been seen in the whiskey industry to date. The first whiskey Jay released using these methods went on to win the World’s Best Irish Single Malt at The World Whiskies Awards, an award less than 1% of whiskey masters ever achieve. It would be similar to an actor winning an Oscar in their first ever role. And the awards haven’t stopped since. To date Jay’s whiskey company has won 160 Gold, Silver or Bronze medals in the 3 years since launching. With an unprecedented 102 of these medals being Gold or above (Platinum, Best in Class, Worlds Best, Master Medal ). 63.5% of the time Jay even enters a whiskey into an award ceremony, he wins Gold or above. This stat is unheard of for any Master Blender.

Due to Jay’s blending techniques, CRAFT Irish Whiskey has won more awards than any other whiskey company in the same time period. Becoming not only the number one in the world for taste but also number one in the world for design.

Jay brings a synergistic vision of hospitality by combining his vast spirits & culinary experiences, creating a deep emphasis between the two.