(NOTE: FOUNDERS ARE LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Craft Distillery Whiskey Founders
South Central States Region
The South Central States Region includes the States of: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas
Below are links to Whiskey Founders that have made huge contributions to the growth of the South Central States Region’s Whiskey Industry. These may have been historical figures that lived long ago before prohibition or may be living leaders that have advanced the cause of the industry as a whole. Craft Whiskey has now been its own whiskey category for years.
1
Dan Garrison
Garrison's introduction to distilling did not come from family heritage or Kentucky tradition. Instead, it began with independent research. Determined to learn how bourbon was made at the highest level, he traveled to Kentucky in 2004, where he spent time studying operations at some of the most legendary distilleries in the country.
2
Jared Himstedt
Himstedt and Balcones began releasing age-stated single malts, bottled-in-bond expressions, and limited-edition single barrel programs that have gained national recognition. In 2015, Balcones Texas Single Malt won “Best American Single Malt” at the World Whiskies Awards. Since then, Balcones has earned more than 200 medals.
3
Mike & Dana Hoey
Mike and Dana bought a 250-gallon copper still, read technical manuals late into the night, and stood shoulder to shoulder while tanks were installed and ventilation was planned. They encountered the slow, patient bureaucracy of licensing and Oklahoma’s then-restrictive rules on on-site sales, the kind of problems that test both a distiller’s and a couple’s resolve.
4
Marlene Holmes
In 2018, Marlene Holmes serendipitously met Marsha Milam, founder of Milam & Greene Whiskey, who was seeking someone to lead distillation at her nascent Texas craft operation. The two women hit it off immediately. Ultimately, Holmes, then 62, decided to leave Kentucky, sold her farm, packed up, and moved to Texas.
5
Steve Ison
In 2008, Steve Ison started seriously exploring the idea of distilling spirits in Texas. At that time, no major craft whiskey distilleries operated there. Ison knew very little about distilling, so to fill that gap, he traveled to distilling schools around the country and studied the processes involved. He then met Master Distiller Eric Watson and recruited him as an adviser.
6
Brad Nethery
Neathery’s transition into spirits began through a professional relationship with entrepreneur Joe Giildenzopf. The two first connected through branding projects when Giildenzopf hired Neathery for design work. They quickly realized they shared not only compatible creative instincts but also a mutual appreciation for bourbon.
7
Ale Ochoa
Ale’s role was to build and run a formal sensory program: training panels, quantifying aroma and flavor, and ensuring quality and consistency from new-make through maturation to the bottled whiskey. She described the day-to-day work as “sampling and quantifying the aromas and flavors of whiskey.”
8
Donnis Todd
Within a year, Donnis Todd’s interest in the distillation process was noticed, and he began training in distillation and barrel management. He learned to run Garrison’s pot stills, design custom fermentation regimens, and catalogue barrels by season and location to understand how the Texas heat and humidity shaped maturation.