In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with Scott Bolin. Scott is the co-founder & CEO of Next Century Spirits. A technology-based spirits company that focuses on private labels and craft producers. Talked about his background, how he went from the bio-material space to spirits business, controls around finishing and filtration, his advice on technology and spirits, favorite books and so much more.
Oct 31, 2020•19 min•Ep. 75
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with Arthur Shapiro . Arthur started his career with Seagram Spirits and Wine Company in 1986 as VP Marketing Research. What followed was a number of different marketing assignments in the US and globally including VP New Products, SVP Marketing Asia/Pacific/Global Duty-Free, Global Head of Marketing Services, and his longest position, EVP Marketing for the Americas. We talked about the background and how h...
Sep 30, 2020•39 min•Ep. 74
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with Michael Weiss. Michael is the CEO and founder of Spirit Hub. Spirit Hub is an e-commerce platform specifically geared towards independent craft spirits producers, allowing them to sell their spirits directly to consumers! And now more than even platforms like Spirit Hub are much needed, we chatted about Michael's background, why Spirit Hub exists, their goals, how they can help the producers and so muc...
Sep 16, 2020•38 min•Ep. 73
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with Ivar Aass. Ivar and the owner and distillery behind Spirit Lab Distilling, specializing in American Single Malt Whiskey. A great story that I related a lot, we chatted about brandy production, whiskey production, favorite book, and why running a small craft distillery can be very beneficial.. Ivar and the owner and distillery behind Spirit Lab Distilling, specializing in American Single Malt Whiskey. A...
Aug 31, 2020•35 min•Ep. 72
The idea that has been on my mind for a few months, and it really came to be from a visit at a fairly large distillery. While I was there we talk about the usual, stills, production, process, methods but really what stood out was the concept of the cash cow? For example, Jack Daniel's is Brown-Forman's cash cow. It’s a single product that is generating so much revenue that no only its own brand, but it can allow for the business to use those funds to finance other aspects of the operation, from ...
Aug 04, 2020•6 min•Ep. 71
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with Robert Likarish. Robert is the co-founder of IronRoot Republic distillery located in Denison Texas and best known for the line of whiskeys! And what a great interview, talked about the distillery origin story, brandy production, corn selection and of course bourbon, whiskey, and so much more!
Jul 31, 2020•40 min•Ep. 70
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with Erik Owens. Erik is the Vice President of American Distilling Institute or ADI for short, and in this episode, we chatted about Erik's path into the distilling, his dad Bill, ADI's beginning, spirit competitions, the current upcoming virtual ADI conference and so much more!
Jul 09, 2020•32 min•Ep. 69
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with Steven Guido. Steven is the CEO and Co-Founder of Aeva labs a platform for developing and scaling spirits. Steven talked about his start into the spirits business, what Aeva labs is trying to accomplish, he gave us a little behind the scenes of their process, and their focus on flavor and so much more!
Jun 30, 2020•29 min•Ep. 68
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure talking with Murphy Quint of Cedar Ridge Distillery located in Swisher, IA. Murphy is the Director of Operations for Cedar Ridge, and we chatted about his history and how he got into the spirits business, their aha-moment for their Bourbon. We chatted about American Single Malt Whiskey and the advantage it currently has on the market! And so much more!
May 31, 2020•50 min•Ep. 67
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure talking with Suzanne Henrickson, founder of the Crafty Cask. Suzanne by trade is a market researcher and storyteller and over the last few years, she has been focusing on telling the stories behind some of your favorite craft producers. We chatted about her previous career and how that lead to the current business, how to tell stories about your brand, how to focus on those stories, favorites books, building a mailing...
May 17, 2020•41 min•Ep. 66
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with Cheryl Durzy. Cheryl is the CEO behind Liberation Distribution or LibDid. And in this episode, we chatted about how she got started in the beverage industry, talked about strategies and how distilleries should be looking at distribution, their partnership with RNDC, looked into the future, and where we are potentially going with a DTC approach and so much more.
Apr 30, 2020•29 min•Ep. 65
In this special episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I sat down and chat with Chris Swonger the CEO and President of DISCUS and Responsiblity.org. We chatted about how distilleries are jumping in and assisting with the production of hand sanitizer, the ongoing discussions with the FDA, their new portal to help distillers navigate production of hand sanitizer, their new podcast and so much more.
Apr 02, 2020•22 min•Ep. 64
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with Ryan Christiansen. Ryan is the President and Head Distillery behind Caledonia Spirits located in Vermont and best known for their Barr Hill Gin and Vodka. And what an episode, we chatted about Ryan's beginnings, how bees and honey became a core of what they do, favorite books, expansion headaches, SKU selection and so much more.
Mar 30, 2020•43 min•Ep. 63
A quick podcast to go over the requirements for the COVID-19 response from the TTB and how distilleries can help with the production of hand sanitizers. Please use the recommendations from the TTB and WHO and don't deviate if you are going to produce hand sanitizer. Links: WHO Formula: https://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/Guide_to_Local_Production.pdf FDA: https://www.fda.gov/media/136118/download?fbclid=IwAR0C11cJmuiiuTXbJzA-erMvW39iVgxRW1omq1_dRq-AaCnPiab15k5aPXs TTB: https://content.govdelivery.com/...
Mar 19, 2020•6 min•Ep. 62
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with Alan Bishop. Alan is the distiller behind Spirits of French Lick, located in Indiana and best known for their line of whiskeys, brandy, and aquavit. Alan talks about his family history, why reviving Apple Brandy is so important, we get detailed into yeast selection, history, pot distillation and so much more!
Mar 01, 2020•46 min•Ep. 61
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with Stephen Gould. Stephen is the owner and distiller behind Golden Moon Distillery, located in Golden Colorado, where they are best known for their Whiskey, Gin, Absinthe and liqueurs. A great all-around discussion, on how Stephen got into distilling, his collection of stills, re-structuring the company, capacity changes, favorite books, his advice on running a distillery and so much more!...
Jan 31, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 60
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with Ian Thomas. Ian is the Distillery Director for Virginia Distillery Company, where they specialize in American Single Malt. We talk about how Ian got his start into distilling, American Single Malt, production at Virginia Distillery, their beautiful stills, favorite books, worst distillery moments, yeast protocols, wine casks and so much more!
Dec 30, 2019•49 min
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I go over my experience with a TTB audit from July 2019. This was a voluntary request to the TTB that I initiated to help me figure out what I'm doing wrong and what areas I can improve. Early on people used to tell me "knock on wood" we never had a TTB audit. My thoughts were the opposite, you want audits at this level as there are simply too many rules to fully have an understanding. It took me a long time to release this, but I hope you do fin...
Dec 10, 2019•21 min•Ep. 58
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with John Mleziva. John is the owner and distiller behind State Line Distillery, located in Madison Wisconsin, and best known for their Rum, Gin, Vodka and Aquavit. We talked about his background in biology and how education played a key role in troubleshooting issues and ensuring a quality product, his experience with studying abroad, best advice, aquavit tips, and so much more.
Nov 29, 2019•40 min•Ep. 57
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with Melkon Khosrovian. Melkon is the co-founder behind Greenbar Distillery, located in Los Angeles and best known for an array of spirits including, their Whiskey, Gin, Vodka and Liqueurs! And what an episode, Melkon talks about his early days trying to get started, how a health department issue ends up being a great asset at the end, We obviously talk about Organic Spirits and recipe formulation, favorite...
Oct 31, 2019•55 min•Ep. 56
In this episode of the distillery nation podcast we had the absolute pleasure talking with Chris Swonger. Chris is the President and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the US (DISCUS) and Responsibility.org. We chatted about his history with distilled spirits, his current role and responsibilities, talked about the inaugural Distilled Spirits Council Conference. Hot topics like the FET expiration that will affect craft distilleries here in 2 months, and more importantly what we can do to he...
Oct 15, 2019•43 min
In this episode of the distillery nation podcast we had the absolute pleasure talking with Kara Newman. Kara is a spirits and cocktail writer based in New York, she's also the spirits editor for Wine Enthusiast and an author, with her latest book Cocktails with a Twist, which I purchased and love it. We talked about Kara's history, and how she got involved in the spirits and cocktail industry. We talk about the strengths a distillery should focus when looking at cocktails, and brand, how importa...
Sep 30, 2019•33 min
A special middle of the month episode, that is a recording of the sessions from the 2019 Honey Spirits Summit that was a few months ago. Our friend Austin was kind enough to record the entire presentation and with the permission of the Honey Summit we are releasing it here. It’s a great insight and continuation from our May episode with Keith Seiz, on how to look at adding honey into your spirits. Also, in the show notes the actual PowerPoint Presentations from the seminar! A BIG thank you to Au...
Sep 15, 2019•58 min
In this episode we had the pleasure talking with Daniel and Meg McNeill. Owners and distillers behind the award-winning Miscellaneous Distillery located in Mount Airy, Maryland. They are best known for their Rum, Gin and Rye they are a family run business, and I love having couples on the show as it a cool way to see different dynamics and how you can make things happens with your significant other. We chatted of course about their history, branding, how being a little different is ok in terms o...
Aug 29, 2019•52 min
In this episode we had the pleasure talking with Dan Farber of Osocalis Distillery, located in Soquel California and of course best known for their brandies (Hint: It took Dan 14 years to release his first brandy, talk about patience!). And what an honor, an hour and forty-five minutes of brandy history, production, aging and everything in between with a true craftsman and master. We chatted about his early days, grape brandies, why acidity plays an important role, favorite grape varieties for d...
Jul 30, 2019•1 hr 47 min
In this episode we had the pleasure talking with Kevin and Frank Kurland of Smoky Quartz Distillery located Seabrook New Hemisphere and best known for their Rum, Bourbon and Moonshine. A veteran owned and operated distillery, with a great story that related a lot to me in terms of bootstrapping and how they started. We talked about the build of their distillery, working with family, How deciding on the size of your still is such a crucial decision, talked about their products and testing around ...
Jun 30, 2019•1 hr 9 min
In this episode it’s a long recording of the TTB Trade session that occurred in Seattle WA in June 2019. Even though the audio is not the best I wanted to publish this in hopes to help the industry and ensure that everyone starting has access to information like this. It’s a mix audio of both the TTB (first part) and the Washington Liquor Control Board (second part). Audio is not the best, but I hope you enjoy it and get something out of it! Please visit this podcast at http://www.distillerynati...
Jun 20, 2019•2 hr 1 min
In this episode we had the pleasure talking with Keith Seiz. Keith is the strategic director behind Brightly Creative an agency that specialized in marketing for all things beverage! And in this episode, we discussed all things Honey. Keith has been working with the National Honey Association for quite some time, along with food processors, breweries and distilleries that want to incorporate honey into their product. We talked about the 300+ honey varieties, different viscosity and colors, the b...
May 30, 2019•45 min
In this episode we had the pleasure talking with John and Michelle Davenport from Three Crosses Distilling. A full packed interview with John and Michelle, talked about their beginnings, research and how to approach using data to drive decisions. Worst distillery moment, leasing your equipment, building a local community around their distillery, and the single most important advice on becoming profitable, favorite books and so much more! I hope you enjoy this and find value. If you do please lea...
Apr 30, 2019•49 min
In this episode we had the pleasure talking with Paul Mabray. Paul is the CEO of Emetry and currently one of the most influential people when you think about the wine industry and technology. Paul has over two decades of experience in the food and beverage industry and although he specializes in wine. Wine and distilled spirits cross, and I do think we can learn a lot from the wine business. We talked about his initial work with the Francis Ford Coppola winery running the wine club, his startups...
Mar 31, 2019•38 min
