craft distilling

Andrew Faulkner, the managing partner of the New Orleans Spirits Competition, unravels the unique elements behind the scenes at the competition. He shares his motivations as well as the challenges and triumphs he has faced throughout his career in the beverage world from his time as a journalist to where he is today

“A good half of the art of living is resilience.”
― Alain de Botton

 

Step into the world of artisanal spirits with 'Red Rocks Vodka: The Story, The Strength, and The Spirit.' Join me and Founder, Ashley Blankenship, on a flavorful journey as we explore the Red Rocks Vodka journey, it’s meticulous craftsmanship, and the captivating spirit of the human, Ashley, behind the brand . Red Rocks Vodka is minority, woman owned, AND local- from its origin in the heart of the Rockies to the dedication and passion that goes into every bottle, this libation is filled with flavor and purpose. Get ready to sip, savor, and be inspired to take on life’s challenges, further recognize your own resilience- and remember to have fun while doing it!  Let’s raise our glasses to the exceptional story, strength, and spirit of Red Rocks Vodka.

 

Highlights:

Red Rocks Vodka. Strength, spirit, resilience, life. Entrepreneurship. Taking a change. Self-discovery and internal belief. The power of showing up and letting go. The music business. Breakdowns and breakthroughs. Work hard, play hard, believe hard. Woman owned, minority owned, local small business. Colorado.

 

Related Articles:

Red Rocks Vodka: Beyond Top Shelf, It's Mile High!

Red Rocks Hand Crafted Vodka

Local restaurant owner creates vodka that goes “viral”

 

Time Stamps:

1:47- Intro, Ashley’s Background

5:00- Mental Health changes the path

7:15- We jumped in!

10:15- Moving to Colorado

12:00- Starting the business

14:00- Partnerships and support

15:40- Leaning into intuition

17:19- Déjà vu

20:24- Kids and social media, honest conversation

24:43- Breaking out of the box

25:32- Finding and defining yourself

27:20- Wearing all the hats

29:16- What am I doing?

28:26- I just want to help people

28:43- Humanizing the brand

31:29- Don’t sleep on the fun

31:46- Where can you get Red Rocks Vodka

34:18- The distribution game

36:42- Support your local brand, support your local content creator!

42:05- Upcoming events

44:18- What is success to you?

 

Ashley Blankenship:

Ashley is the owner of Red Rocks Spirits and currently wears many hats. She's a former recording artist turned stay-at-home mom turned doula turned business woman. Her family is the most important thing in her life and cheerleading other women is her passion.

 

Red Rocks Spirits is a Colorado spirits company currently offering Red Rocks Vodka in the Denver Metro. Our focus is providing high quality local spirits at an affordable price. We believe Colorado is special. Cocktails should be simple. Friends and family come first.​

We're proud to say we're minority-woman owned. We love to have a good time and want to share the joy of responsibly imbibing a deliciously crafted cocktail with friends both old and new.

@redrocksspirits

Https://www.redrocksspirits.com

 

. . .

Connect with T&T:

IG: @TurmericTequila

Facebook: @TurmericAndTequila

TikTok: @TurmericTequila

Website: www.TurmericAndTequila.com

 

Host: Kristen Olson

IG: @Madonnashero

Website: www.KOAlliance.com

 

 

 

 

 

We’re joined by the founders of American Mash & Grain, CEO Devin Ershow & COO Chase Langdon. Devin and Chase have created a website documentary project to highlight the American Craft Whiskey movement, regularly giving full featured reviews and telling the stories of the best craft whiskey distilleries.  The next progression for their project is marrying some of their favorite featured distilleries into a unique blend of American Whiskey.  Their first volume features 4 varied whiskies that they meld together for “Borrowed Page Volume 1”.   

Stream this episode on your favorite podcast app and be sure to drop us a review while you’re there.  

We are thankful for everyone who has supported us. A huge shoutout goes to our growing Patreon Community as well! We'd appreciate it if you can take the time to give us feedback on our podcast. If you enjoy our content, consider giving us a 5 star rating on your favorite podcast app, leave us a review, and tell a fellow bourbon lover about our show.

Follow  us @BourbonLens on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.  And please check out our Patreon to learn how you can support our endeavors, earn Bourbon Lens swag, be part of future barrel picks, and more. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, please email us at TheBourbonLens@Gmail.com.

Check out our freshly redesigned website BourbonLens.com to check out our blog posts, whiskey news, and details on our upcoming single barrel picks.

Cheers,
Scott and Jake
Bourbon Lens

 

About American Mash & Grain 

American Mash & Grainbrings together four unique styles and producers to redefine American Whiskey.

Borrowed Page Volume 1 is the first release in a limited release series. A partnership between American Mash & Grain and the craft whiskey distilleries we’ve featured on our site. Each volume will be different from the last, weaving the tale of a uniquely American collaboration, a blending of culture, craft, and passion that honors its makers and hopes to move the story of American Whiskey forward.

“For so long American whiskey has been thought of as one thing. There are a growing number of craft producers in the U.S. that are working hard to challenge this convention and establish their own local identity of American Whiskey.” - Devin Ershow, CEO American Mash & Grain

“American whiskey is as diverse in thought, expression and approach as America itself. We wanted to create a product that highlighted some of the many pioneers, leaders and innovators working hard to redefine American made whiskey.” - Chase Langdon, COO American Mash & Grain

Volume 1 is a blend of bourbon, rye and single malt whiskey.

• 34% Watershed Distillery, Columbus, OH (Straight Bourbon)
  • “The passion Devin and Chase put into this project shows through in their whiskey. Borrowed Page is an authentic collection of spirits and people that have come together to create something special. We are excited about this partnership and are certain these bottles will sell out quickly!” - Greg Lehman, Founder/CEO Watershed Distillery
• 32% Wigle Whiskey, Pittsburgh, PA (Pennsylvania Straight Rye)
  • "We are so thrilled to partner up with American Mash & Grain. Our Blender, Taylor Bostock, picked one of our favorite Rye barrels from our barrelhouse for this blend to represent Pennsylvania Monongahela Rye. Devin and Chase have brought together some of the most innovative and dedicated craft spirit makers in the US to create a blend that captures the best flavors of this moment in craft distilling. We are so proud to be a part of the Borrowed Page project," - Alexander Grelli, Co-Founder and Owner Wigle Whiskey.
• 24% Spirits of French Lick, West Baden Springs, IN (Lee Sinclair Bourbon)
  • “American Mash and Grain have been great supporters of Spirits of French lick and craft distilling in general. When we heard they wanted to focus on making a blended whiskey using craft spirits it went without saying that we wanted to be as much a part of that project as we possibly could be. The American craft whiskey movement has become in recent years a true talking point in regards to quality, unique flavors, and the expansion of the American whiskey experience. Using these unique profiles to produce a blended whiskey and present it to an expanded audience that may not be familiar with each independent contributor is a great way to create new customers interested in exploring what once was fringe but is now re-writing what American whiskey distilling can be. It was our distinct pleasure to include a unique 62 gallon, Number 2 char barrel, of our Lee W. Sinclair Bourbon to the project.” - Alan Bishop, Head Distillery Spirits of French Lick
• 10% Whiskey Del Bac, Tucson, AZ (Mesquite Smoked Single Malt)
  • “We love what the team at American Mash & Grain is doing with the Borrowed Page project and are honored to be included. History is being made right now in American whiskey as we and other incredible distilleries across the country are crafting American single malts with our own stamps of place and terroir. It’s an exciting time for both whiskey makers and drinkers.” -Stephen and Amanda Paul, Co-founders of Whiskey Del Bac. - Stephen Paul, Co-Founder/President Hamilton Distillers Group/Whiskey Del Bac

Tasting Notes:

Butterscotch, Maple Syrup, Tobacco, Cinnamon, Mesquite BBQ Smoke.

More Notes:

• Borrowed Page American Whiskey exclusively sold on the American Mash & Grain website (mashngrain.myshopify.com) for $75 (exclusive of tax and shipping)
• American Mash & Grain launched on July 4th, 2020 with the purpose of elevating the profile of the American craft whiskey movement.
• The blend was created in collaboration with Anne Dimmick.
• Sourcing as a concept is not a new idea, but so much of it is hidden behind NDAs. We are opting for hyper transparency, featuring our distillery partners on the front of the label.
• “American Whiskey" is currently stigmatized as “cheap” or “poorly made.” We want todestigmatize American Whiskey.
• "American Whiskey“ is a catch all for any American whiskey that doesn’t meet the guidelines for standardized whiskies like bourbon or rye.
• With "American Single Malt" on the precipice of becoming a standardized category, "American Whiskey" is the last bastion of unbridled innovation and experimentation.

Links:

• American Mash & Grain
• Bourbon Lens Review of Mash and Grain Borrowed Page Volume 1
• Purchase a Bottle Here

Today's interview is with Lance Winters and Dave Smith from St. George Spirits.

Lance is the Master Distiller and Dave is the Head Distiller for St. George Spirits, one of the pioneer craft distilleries in the United States.

Founded by Jorg Rupf in 1982, St. George originally distilled eau de vie, then birthed and sold the Hangar One brand, and expanded their portfolio across categories to include base spirits like Gin, Vodka, and Whiskey, as well as liqueurs and more esoteric offerings like Absinthe and Shochu.

In the podcast today we discuss:

1. How Lance and Dave have grown the brand organically within minimal startup funding
2. How they think about pushing the boundaries with craft spirits
3. How they consider the intersection between innovation and commercial opportunity
4. And their advice for entrepreneurs interested in launching a spirits brand

Lance and Dave are icons in the spirits industry, and it was such a pleasure having them on the pod.

Without further ado, please enjoy my interview with Lance Winters and Dave Smith.

Find St George

www.stgeorgespirits.com

On instagram @stgeorgespirits

On Twitter @stgeorgespirits

On facebook @stgeorgespirits

Find Movers and Shakers:

www.moverssshakers.com

 

On Instagram @moverssshakers

 

Find April:

On LinkedIn

www.aprilwachtel.com

 

Find Cheeky 

www.cheekycocktails.co

Enter code MOVERSANDSHAKERS at checkout for 10% off your first order

On Instagram @cheekycocktails