In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Sean Anger. Sean is the co-founder and distiller behind Fox & Seeker, a craft distillery specializing in Vodka and Gin from Houston Texas. And what a great interview, I've known Sean for a few years and have been following their journey since the beginning. We chatted about best practices when dealing with wholesaling accounts, the ability to get feedback right away, how grains affect the flavor pro...
Jan 31, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 105
A very special podcast to wrap up the end of the year. For the second year I decided to go back, listen and re-listen to all the great interviews that happened in the last year and pick some of my favorite pieces and add commentary on why that piece was important and how in most cases it helped with the direction for my business. From best accounting principles to the importance of the email list, aha moments that led to award-winning spirits, starting a distillery staying small, working hard an...
Dec 30, 2022•55 min•Ep. 104
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Chris Maffeo. Chris is a drinks industry adviser and founder of Maffeo Drinks. Chris has vast experience and knowledge on how to build brands from the bottom up and in this episode, we did just that. Chris went deep into sales, building demand, how to target and filter on-premise accounts and how important is to focus on the essentials and so much more!
Dec 01, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 103
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Jeff Wuslich. Jeff is the co-founder of Cardinal Spirits from Bloomington Indiana, a craft distillery known best for its line of vodkas, gin, and whiskey! We chatted about Jeff's origin story and how he went about changing the laws in Indiana to support craft distilling. How Cardinal Spirits focus on diversification for their income streams and how contract distilling plays a big role in their operation...
Nov 01, 2022•40 min•Ep. 102
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Jackie Summers. Jackie is a James Beard Finalist, speaker, and creator of the award-winning Sorel Liqueur! And what an interview, we talked about the multiple roadblocks Jackie had to overcome, including a terminal prognosis, a hurricane, and multiple NOs. We also talked about his favorite books, advice for investing, Sorel and its production and so much more!
Sep 30, 2022•45 min•Ep. 101
In this special episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, Ilias is sitting down and unpacking some of the lessons learned over the last seven years running the podcast and being a distiller and business owner. From how word of mouth drives business, focusing on product over process, the value of networking and why you should focus on your email list.
Aug 31, 2022•23 min•Ep. 100
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Alex Myers. Alex is the distiller behind Big Gin, and what a better way for episode 99 of the podcast than to go back and check on Big Gin, which was our very first distillery podcast. And it was during those early visits at the original Big Gin (Captive Spirits) distillery, that gave me enough confidence that I could start small. So, we brought Alex to talk about the last 7 years, what has changed, how...
Aug 01, 2022•49 min•Ep. 99
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Maria Pearman. Maria is a CPA with over 15 years of deep operational accounting experience. She recently published Distillery Finance , so this was a great opportunity to have her talk about some of the foundational concepts, like good debt, bad debt, line of credits, most common finance mistakes distilleries make, the importance of building a cash flow forecast and so much more, a full packed podcast w...
Jun 30, 2022•44 min•Ep. 98
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Becky and Scott Harris. Becky and Scott are owners and distillers behind Catoctin Creek , a craft Rye whiskey distillery located in Purcellville Virginia, and what an episode. Full of practical advice, from their humble beginning to why they decided to focus on Rye whiskey, work ethic, distribution, scaling, working together and so much more!
May 31, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 97
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Amy and Steve Bohner. Amy and Steve are the owners and distillers behind Alchemy Distillery a craft distillery located in Arcata California and best known for the grain-to-glass whiskey and gin. We chatted about their trip across the US and how it helped them kickstart their distillery, how being a contractor and the customer helped them save a lot of headaches, their decision to source locally and so m...
Apr 30, 2022•52 min•Ep. 96
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure talking with Renee Bemis. Renee is the co-founder of Driftless Glen, a craft distillery located in Baraboo Wisconsin and producers of grain-to-glass whiskey, vodka and gin! A great interview with Renee as we chatted about how they got started in the industry, dealing with wastewater, expansions and why building the distillery to accommodate growth was the plan from their start and so much more!...
Mar 31, 2022•59 min•Ep. 95
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure talking with Ben Salisbury. Ben is the founder and president of Salisbury Creative Group. With over 30 years of experience in the beverage industry, including being the former VP of National Accounts for Constellations Brands in the US. We chatted about the importance of an email list, and why they need to be in your priority list, direct-to-consumer, distribution mistakes and best practices, Spirits Direct and so much...
Mar 01, 2022•54 min•Ep. 94
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of having Robin Thieme. Robin is the CEO and founder of KBS CFO, a company that provides strategic guidance and system-based solutions for entrepreneurs including distilleries! We chatted about Robin's history and journey into accounting, approaching a financial institution for working capital, forecasting, margins, tips and insights from her CFO experience and so much more!
Jan 31, 2022•59 min•Ep. 93
A very special podcast to wrap up the end of the year. This time I decided to go back, listen and re-listen to all the great interviews that happened in the last year and pick some of my favorite pieces and add commentary on why that piece was important and how in most cases it helped with the direction for my business. From comparisons, and finding what you love to do, to distribution and DTC to making quality as your North Star, sourcing and transparency to investor money to some technical bar...
Dec 28, 2021•39 min•Ep. 92
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of having Jake Holshue. Jake is the head distiller behind Rogue Ales & Spirits located in Newport Oregon and best known for their line of whiskeys. Jake is on the board of directors of the American Craft Spirits Association (ASCA), a distiller and consultant since 2012. A full-packed interview that covered a lot of ground, from his start into the distilling, canned cocktails, some of his award-winning spirits, coop...
Dec 01, 2021•50 min•Ep. 91
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute talking with Brad Plummer. Brad is the founder and distillery behind Coastal Spirits Distilling a craft distillery located in San Carlos, CA. Brad is the former editor-in-chief for Distiller Magazine, in addition to running his distillery, so this unique position allowed him to talk to a lot of distillers about what works through the years, and in this episode we did just that. From distribution to SKUs to favorite books and so...
Oct 30, 2021•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 90
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of welcoming back Melkon Khosrovian. Melkon is the co-founder behind Greenbar Distillery, located in Los Angeles and we originally talked back in episode 56. But this time we brought Melkon back on to talk about RTDs. Ready to drink (RTDs) cocktails are seeing high growth opportunities and Greenbar has invested heavily into this space, so why not bring Melkon's expertise and learn how they are doing it....
Sep 30, 2021•57 min•Ep. 89
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute talking with Maggie Campbell. Maggie is known for her work in rum, producing some of the best American rum, we talked about her early start into the industry, to working for Germain-Robin, and her love for all spirits but specifically rum. Maggie as I mentioned on the podcast has this unique super-power of taking something really complex and breaking it down into very simple easy to follow steps. But more of that during this mo...
Aug 31, 2021•51 min•Ep. 88
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute talking with Marianne Eaves. Marianne is Kentucky’s first female Master Distiller. We talked about her start in the business, including working for Brown-Forman, and then Castle and Key. How does she approach a blending session, we talked about transparency in the bottle, and how helping others is super important, her advice for those starting up and so much more!
Jul 31, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 87
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of having back on the podcast Ben Williams. Ben is the co-founder of Highway Vodka, located in Houston Texas. We talked about his start into the business, dealing with the TTB on approvals, his best advice on preparation, building a quality product from scratch favorite books and so much more!
Jun 30, 2021•56 min•Ep. 86
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of having back on the podcast Mark Beres. Mark is the CEO and co-founder of Flying Leap Distillery and Winery located in Elgin Arizona. Our first talk with Mark was back in episode 43, so you can go back and listen to his story on how he got into this business, but in this episode, we went a different direction. What started as a text, we decided to convert it into a podcast with the goal of providing value and a diffe...
Jun 18, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 85
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Markus Kypreos. Markus not only a fellow Greek, but also the founder of Blackland Distillery, located in Fort Worth Texas, and specializing in Bourbon, Rye, Gin and Vodka, a great interview on how he went from culinary school to distilling, why he choose to open a distillery, their decision on going with a custom made bottle, which is beautifully designed, his advice on distribution and so much more....
May 31, 2021•26 min•Ep. 84
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Lance Winters. Lance is the distillery and creative force behind St. George Spirits. You might know this distillery, one of the first craft distilleries in the US, dating back to 1982. Lance started with St. George in 1996, and since then has helped elevate St. George into a world-class distillery with a variety of products from the original Pear Brandy to American Single Malt and Gin and Vodka. A wide-...
Apr 30, 2021•34 min•Ep. 83
A solo episode where I do a deep dive into my personal Direct to Consumer solution for shipping spirits. Comparing other solutions and giving you my recommendations and what I use for my distillery.
Apr 23, 2021•31 min•Ep. 82
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Thomas and Andrew Soltau. Thomas and Andrew are owners of Sugarfields Spirits, a craft distillery located in Gonzales Louisiana. Best known for their Rum, Bourbon, Gin, and Liqueurs. We chatted about their story on how they got started into the spirits industry, using seasonal releases to drive both on-premises and off-premise sales, creating focus and accountability especially when you run a family bus...
Mar 31, 2021•53 min•Ep. 81
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with Andy Garrison. Andy is the distiller behind Stone Barn Brandyworks, a craft distillery located in Portland Oregon where they specialize in Brandy and Whiskey! I met Andy two years ago when he was writing an article on Grappa production! And instantly I knew his breadth of knowledge on the brandy and distilling, and probably one of the best domestic Grappa's that I have tried. A wide range of an intervi...
Feb 28, 2021•42 min•Ep. 80
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Lloyd Reed. Lloyd is the co-owner and distillery behind Black Mountain Botanicals, a craft gin distillery located in the UK. Lloyd a mechanical engineer turned distiller talks about his story starting a distillery in the UK, favorite books, worst distillery moment, and why Gin among many things!
Jan 30, 2021•38 min•Ep. 79
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Tony Abou-Ganim. Tony is widely regarded as one of the pioneering and leading bar professionals in the world, and in this episode, we talked about his start into the booze business, his philanthropic endeavor with the Helen David Relief Fund, his advice for bartender and distillers, and how hospitality is the foundation for everything and so much more!
Dec 30, 2020•33 min•Ep. 78
Austin and Eric are co-founders of Ballmer Peak Distillery, located in Lakewood, Colorado and they specialize in Rum, Gin, and Whiskey. We chatted about their origin story, using the same base material for your production and how it can benefit your process, especially for a smaller space. Being smart about your pricing strategies, listening to your customers, giving back, favorite books and so much more!
Dec 01, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 77
In this episode of the Distillery Nation Podcast, we had the absolute pleasure of talking with Butter & Bacon, being their Instagram handle. They are a husband-and-wife team that have a very cool background, have been long-time supporters and friends and aside from their main jobs, they run Butter & Bacon. A venture that focuses on using distilled spirits while home cooking! And now more than ever bringing this as a potential avenue to distilleries as a means to differentiate, possibly c...
Nov 17, 2020•36 min•Ep. 76
