Our latest guests are Johnny Jeffery of Bently Heritage Estate Distillery and John McKee of Headframe Spirits. They’re also a part of Good Deeds Spirits, a passionate collective of distillers and friends committed to supporting causes that lead to positive change.

The group recently unveiled its first release, Good Deeds Malt Whiskey, which is available at seelbachs.com. It’s a blend from nine craft whiskey producers, with 100% of proceeds benefiting ACSA’s STEPUP Foundation.

At ACSA’s 8th Annual Distillers’ Convention and Vendor Trade Show, Jeffery and McKee joined CRAFT SPIRITS magazine editor in chief Jeff Cioletti and senior editor Jon Page to discuss how Good Deeds Malt Whiskey came about.

Click below to buy a bottle of Good Deeds Malt Whiskey.

https://seelbachs.com/products/good-deeds-malt-whiskey?_pos=1&_sid=c110c77a7&_ss=r

Our latest guest on The Craft Spirits Podcast is Brian Facquet of Do Good Spirits.

"Do good everyday," was part of a toast in 2016 made by a friend of Facquet, who founded Prohibition Spirits in 2009. “Do good” was the last thing his friend ever said to him. Today, those words are the core mission of the Roscoe, New York-based distillery, which recently rebranded as Do Good Spirits.

Back in August, Facquet spoke to editor in chief Jeff Cioletti in person at neighborhood bar Thief when they were both in town for Bar Convent Brooklyn. They discussed gin, vodka, bourbon, trends in the world of craft spirits and that name change.

Our latest guests on The Craft Spirits Podcast are Chris Montana and Maria Kustritz of Minneapolis-based Du Nord Craft Spirits.

Kustritz is the distillery’s production manager. Montana, who is also ACSA’s immediate past president, founded the distillery in 2013 with his wife, Shanelle.

During the unrest of the George Floyd protests in late May of 2020, rioters broke into Du Nord’s warehouse and set fires. While the sprinkler system prevented the fire from destroying the building, the damage was vast. Fortunately, insurance covered most of the damage, and numerous fundraisers—including one started by the American Craft Spirits Association—helped lead to the formation of the Du Nord Foundation, which addresses racial inequities in the Twin Cities through numerous initiatives. One of those efforts in 2020 disbursed nearly $500,000 in emergency funds to dozens of local businesses.

Editor-in-chief Jeff Cioletti spoke to Montana and Kustritz this summer in Louisville, Kentucky, when they were in town for the Heartland Whiskey Competition. They looked back on a dramatic year for the country, Minneapolis and the distillery. They also discussed the dynamics of the team at Du Nord, what it was like for Montana to speak virtually before congress this summer, and some updates about ACSA’s STEPUP Foundation.

Our latest guest on The Craft Spirits Podcast is Ashby Marshall of Spirit Works Distillery. For more than a decade, Ashby and her husband, Timo, worked for environmental nonprofits, which included plenty of time at sea. But they eventually grounded themselves, and they later launched Spirit Works Distillery in Sebastopol, California, in 2012. With a commitment to making spirits from grain to glass, Spirit Works produces several whiskies, vodka and gin—including a sloe gin that’s a nod to Timo’s upbringing in southwest England.

In this episode, Ashby talks about the distillery's products, Spirit Works’ mostly female distilling team, and how her background in environmental work prepared her and Timo for running a craft distillery.

A growing number of American craft distillers are exploring a whiskey category that is not (yet) officially recognized by the federal government. The American Single Malt Whiskey Commission, which is more than 170 distilleries strong, hopes to change that. The group has proposed a standard of identity for the category, and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) recently announced that the matter will be addressed in its upcoming spring unified agenda.

Steve Hawley of Westland Distillery in Seattle is one of the commission’s founders and its president. In the latest episode of The Craft Spirits Podcast, Hawley discussed the commission’s efforts to establish and protect the category across the globe. He also talked about common misconceptions about the category, as well as future opportunities for craft distillers making American single malt.

It’s fair to say that wine took Mississippi native Phillip Ladner around the world, but distilling brought him home. Just out of college, he worked in a wine shop in New York, which he parlayed into a production gig in New Zealand, followed by jobs at well-respected wineries in California. But he eventually found his way to distilling, and a chance meeting with Richard Patrick and Austin Evans—the founders of Mississippi’s first legal distillery—led him back to his home state, where he’s the distiller for Cathead Distillery in Jackson.

In the latest episode of The Craft Spirits Podcast, Ladner talks about how winemaking prepared him for a career in distilling, Cathead's mission to support live music and creating spirits that evoke the South.

Lew Bryson has been writing about beer and spirits full-time since 1995. He was the longtime managing editor of Whisky Advocate and he currently writes for outlets like the Daily Beast, WhiskeyWash.com and CRAFT SPIRITS magazine (check out his latest column here). He’s also the author of “Tasting Whiskey," “Whiskey Master Class" and four regional brewery guidebooks. Bryson recently joined CRAFT SPIRITS magazine editor in chief Jeff Cioletti for a conversation about writing and recent trends in spirits and beer.

After starting his career in production and manufacturing positions, Jason Ericson found his way to distilling as a production assistant at Portland, Oregon-based Eastside Distilling in 2014. He was promoted to head distiller in January of 2020.

In the latest episode of The Craft Spirits Podcast, the Portland native chatted about his road to distilling; Eastside’s new award-winning limited-edition collection of spirits; the benefits of aging in Oregon oak; the rise of Portland’s craft spirits scene; and more.

Vowing to make organic spirits from scratch, Sonat Birnecker Hart and her husband, Robert Birnecker, left academic careers to establish KOVAL Distillery in Chicago in 2008. Today the distillery’s products are available across the nation and in 55 export markets. As president, Birnecker Hart spearheads product development, distribution and marketing. 

She recently joined Jeff Cioletti for a wide-ranging conversation, which includes her thoughts on the benefits of exporting spirits and how starting up the distillery during the subprime mortgage crisis helped KOVAL navigate the pandemic. They also go beyond KOVAL’s whiskey and gin to discuss liqueurs and brandy.

Unemployed after the Enron scandal of 2001 bankrupted the software company where he worked, Dan Garrison started writing a business plan during a tour of Kentucky distilleries. Today, his bourbon is available in 32 states and eight countries and Garrison Brothers Distillery has won numerous awards and honors for its bourbon lineup and developed a loyal fan base.

In this episode, Garrison discusses the many lessons learned from becoming the first legal whiskey distillery in Texas. He also shares thoughts on distribution of craft spirits, upcoming projects from the distillery and Good Bourbon For A Good Cause, the distillery's charitable arm that has raised more than $500,000 for veterans, hospitality workers, parks and more.