America’s First Sweet Potato Vodka
If I had to guess, I’d say 42-year-old David Souza III is a gambling man. Not because he dropped out of college to be a successful entrepreneur in the Las Vegas restaurant and club promotions industries, but because one...
The Quest for Local Grains
“We are ready for our first batch of whiskey!” my husband Steve exclaimed. “Where’s the grain?”
For two years we had spent every evening, weekend and holiday building our distillery from the ground up. How could it be that suddenly...
Dedicated Follower the of the Craft
Robert Spruill (pronounced “Sprool”) used to have the kind of job many of us would envy: He made movies. His first movie, Squeeze, told the tale of three teenage boys trying to fight back against the drugs and violence...
Lost Spirits Soars to New Heights in Las Vegas
For attendees of ADI 2023 Lost Spirits Distillery has graciously shared a 25% discount code, which is good for ANY of their evening Modern Cirque Show tickets — use code DISTILLER25.
When distiller Bryan Davis and partner (in life and business) Joanne...
Are We Ready for Accelerated Aging?
“There is hope that 1-year-old whisky may soon rival 16-year bonded liquor in taste and smell and at a vastly lower cost. … Chemists are glad Prohibition is over so they no longer have to listen to bootleggers for...
The New Orleans Distilling Scene
Let’s back up the van. If you were reading this article, say five years ago, it would be an entirely different story. In fact, I did write a piece about New Orleans’ fledgling distillery scene the summer of 2016....
The Dodo Bird of Distillation Resurfaces
The distilling community got a small jolt of reverse innovation when Leopold Bros. began using a once-extinct style of still, based on designs from the late 19th century — when rye whiskey was king.
One of the early spirits the...
Blazing a Trail in Paso Robles: Central Coast Distillers Stake Out a New Route...
I’ve packed my car with essential gear and headed to California’s Central Coast. Wine and red oak barbecue country calls for folding knives, wine keys and lots of bubble wrap. With over 4,600 wineries and an estimated 600,000 acres...
Stills with Personality: A look at the Spirits Producers Who Give Their Stills Names
At Montanya Distillers in Crested Butte, CO, Karen Hoskin has assigned names to her trio of rum-producing copper pot stills: Bella, Bellisima and Bellatrix. Each has its own personality, she insists. Bellatrix, for example, has a “spike-heeled attitude” and...
2020 Distillery of the Year — Spirit Works
I’m thrilled to announce that this year, the American Distilling Institute Bubble Cap award goes to Spirit Works Distillery in Sebastopol, California, founded by Ashby and Timo Marshall.
ADI began in 2003 with the vision of supporting the burgeoning distilling...
