Dr. Rob Arnold is the President of Advanced Spirits. He is a native of Louisville, Kentucky and the fifth generation in his family to work in the beverage alcohol industry. Prior to leading Advanced Spirits, he was master distiller of Firestone & Robertson (makers of TX Whiskey) from 2011-2021. Whiskeys distilled and blended by Rob have earned top honors at multiple competitions, including multiple Best of Class awards at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Some of his other accomplishments include the first wild yeast isolation for whiskey since 1933, the breeding/selection of corn varieties tailored for whiskey, and the co-development of proprietary toasting recipes for oak barrels. He has played key roles in the process design, build out, and start-up for both pot and column still operations. In 2019, he published a scientific research paper showing for the first time that terroir does indeed impact the flavor of whiskey. He has presented his research at a wide range of conferences, including the Worldwide Distilled Spirits Conference and the University of Kentucky James B. Beam Institute Industry Conference. Rob is also the author of two popular science books: Shots of Knowledge: The Science of Whiskey and The Terroir of Whiskey.

Rob holds a BSc in microbiology from the University of Tennessee, an MSc in biochemistry from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and a PhD in plant genetics from Texas A&M University. He lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife and son.