POWERED BY INSPIRATION
Kitchen Table’s editor-in-chief, Brett Warnock, interviews Wendelin von Schroder, who, with her cousin Anna Axster are the founders and co-owners of Lodestar Whiskey.
FAMILY, FOOD, LAUGHING, COOKING
Q: Where did you grow up? How did food and family play a part in your childhood?
Wendelin: I grew up in Frankfurt, and Anna grew up mostly in Düsseldorf before moving to Frankfurt as a teenager. We were really close growing up—we come from a big family where everyone is tight-knit. Food was always at the center of it all. We spent so much time around big dinner tables with family, sharing meals, laughing, and cooking together.
Our parents and grandparents passed down a lot of recipes, so even though we came from slightly different parts of Germany, we grew up eating many of the same meals. Anna’s dad made an incredible beef tartare, and my grandma’s version was equally legendary. Other family staples were Kohlrouladen (stuffed cabbage rolls) and Königsberger Klopse (meatballs in caper cream sauce). Those flavors and those moments of togetherness are still a huge part of who we are.
Wendelin von Schroder & Anna Axster
Q: Did you ever work in food service, like during college or anything?
Wendelin: Yeah, we both did! My first job in college was at Eleven Madison Park, which was such an amazing experience and one I still really appreciate looking back on. Anna worked as a barista during college—she loved the fast pace of it and getting to interact with people all day.
We both really enjoyed being part of the hospitality community, and it feels pretty special that life brought us full circle, back into that world again, just this time through whiskey. For us, it’s always been about creating and sharing experiences—that’s what we loved most about working in entertainment, too, and it’s kind of been the common thread through everything we’ve done.
Q: Did your former careers inform Lodestar in any way?
Wendelin: We both worked in music and entertainment for over a decade together. We were mostly on the management and label side, working behind the scenes, and we even launched a small music festival that kept us pretty busy. We loved that chapter of our lives, but when the pandemic hit, things shifted pretty drastically overnight and since so much of our work was tied to live shows, and touring, we suddenly had to figure out how to move everything online and keep things running smoothly. It was a big adjustment, but it also gave us the chance to pause, catch our breath, and think about what we wanted to do next.
Whiskey had always been a passion project in the back of our minds, so we decided to take the leap. That entertainment background really shaped how we approached Lodestar; it taught us resilience, business instincts, how to bet on ourselves, and that sometimes you just have to stop overthinking and go for it.
SHATTERING THE WHISKEY STEREOTYPE
Q: how did you actually learn the art of distilling, and help dismantle the stereotypes of the whiskey industry?
Wendelin: Lodestar is a blended American whiskey, so instead of distilling it ourselves, we focus on sourcing and blending aged barrels to create our flavor profile. Before we launched, we created a detailed flavor brief that came out of years of travel, visiting distilleries, and tasting countless (sometimes very obscure) whiskies. That brief gave us a roadmap for what we wanted Lodestar to taste like.
From there, we threw ourselves into research, reading everything we could, talking to other founders, blenders, and distillers. The whiskey community is surprisingly open, and people were so generous with their time. One person I’d especially like to shout out is Marianne Eaves, who was a mentor of mine through the OurWhiskey Foundation mentorship program. Ultimately, we realized blending was the best way to achieve the flavor we envisioned, so we began sourcing barrels directly from distilleries. We taste every single barrel to ensure quality before blending, and then we blend and slow-proof with our partners at Cardinal Spirits.
Q: Has there been any pushback on your mantra that whisky should be accessible?
Wendelin: Not really. People have actually been really receptive to it—both consumers and industry folks. Whiskey culture has historically been seen as pretty stuffy, rugged, or overly masculine, so when people hear that we’re intentionally offering something more approachable, it resonates. We want Lodestar to open the door to a different kind of whiskey culture, and people are excited about that.
Q: What organizations do you work with that readers can check out and support?
Wendelin: Giving back is really important to us. As a women-led company, we’re especially proud to partner with organizations that support women and girls. A few we’d love to highlight are The Downtown Women’s Center, Girls Inc., and RE:Her (Regarding Her). They all do incredible work in their communities.
Q: what words of wisdom would you pass on to young women looking to carve out a space and find agency in the food and beverage space?
Wendelin: Trust your instincts. Don’t dim your light to fit in—let it shine. Remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day; building something meaningful takes time. And surround yourself with good people who genuinely have your back.
Q: What do you hope for for Lodestar in 5-10 years? How about the spirits industry as a whole?
Wendelin: For Lodestar, we hope it becomes a staple on people’s home bars—the bottle you naturally reach for when you’re celebrating time with friends and family. For the industry as a whole, our hope is that it continues to diversify, that more women-led brands get recognition, and that more women rise into leadership roles. Specifically for whiskey, we hope the culture starts to fully reflect all the people who actually drink it, not just the old stereotypes.
Whiskey & pickle juice
Editor’s note: Dumping pickle juice down the drain from a jar bereft of pickles is a crime against food, and taste. Drink that shit plain, or mix it with whiskey like I did here. Whiskey & pickle juice are legendary for a reason.