Thomas List
Thomas List entered the spirits business through hospitality, entrepreneurship, and, most significantly, a marriage that connected him to an old Austrian distilling tradition. Born in March of 1967 and raised in Austria, List earned a degree in hospitality and tourism at university, which led him to a job working in casinos. Concurrently, List’s now wife, Renate (née Bauer), also came from Austria. Renate’s was a household with a long history in the European distilled-spirits tradition, and was the Bauer family dynasty which developed the world-famous Jägermeister brand herbal liqueur. Renate learned distilling herself from her great-uncle Franz, giving her practical exposure to the craft well before she ever met Thomas. As a result, List has repeatedly emphasized Renate’s importance to his own career, acknowledging that neither their restaurant venture nor Mr. Tom's Spirits would have been possible without his wife’s guidance, support, dedication, and co-ownership.
After marrying, then moving from Austria and settling in Southwest Florida, Thomas and Renate opened a beachfront restaurant in Lee County and operated it for many years. The restaurant gave the entrepreneurial couple experience running a customer-oriented business and something which became equally valuable for their future distillery: an established local clientele. Eventually, in 2015, weary of low margins, exhausting hours, and inconstant help, the Lists decided to sell their restaurant and leave that industry behind. Searching for a new beginning, they had the idea to turn toward Renate's distilling heritage. In doing so, they planned to combine her family's traditions and recipes with their own experiences. The result was List Distillery, an independent operation based in South Fort Myers. The products that are now produced are all marketed principally under the Mr. Tom's Spirits moniker, named that because since his restaurant days, locals have affectionately referred to Thomas as “Mr. Tom.”
Although List Distillery developed many spirits including vodka, gin, rum and liqueurs along with their whiskey, in interviews, Thomas indicates that his personal taste leans toward more “traditional” spirits. He described himself as a "pretty classic guy" and identifies bourbon as his preference. As a result, whiskey has become an important part of the expanding Mr. Tom's portfolio. The company currently produces white corn whiskey, Cinnamon Whiskey and Honey Whiskey, while a bourbon line called “Freedom Rings” gives List a product firmly connected to the American whiskey tradition. Bottled at 86 proof, the bourbon uses a mash bill of 80 percent corn and 20 percent rye. That combination places corn sweetness at the center of the whiskey while the rye supplies a contrasting spicy component. Freedom Rings bourbon has become connected with Folds of Honor, the nonprofit organization supporting educational opportunities for families of fallen and disabled military service members, with special Freedom Rings packaging used as part of the brand's support for military families and veterans.
Co-owners Tom and Renate List
The Lists also treat whiskey as a platform for experimentation rather than limiting themselves to a single bourbon. Their Habanero Honey Whiskey expression pairs whiskey with the distinctly unconventional combination suggested by its name, while Butterscotch Bourbon extended the flavored side of the portfolio. The breadth of whiskey offerings gives List Distillery representation across several important sectors of American whiskey rather than tying the company to a single expression.
Local agriculture also became part of the Lists' approach. Thomas emphasizes the use of Southwest Florida ingredients whenever possible, including corn obtained from local farmers. Even the leftover mash from grain-spirit production found another use when List connected with a local pig farmer and now donates all of the spent mash towards animal feed. The practice fits into a broader relationship which the Lists cultivated with the Fort Myers community long ago. Support, which had begun with loyal customers of the restaurant, has continued unabated when the couple moved into distilling.
As a result, what began as a small craft operation has grown substantially. List Distillery had increased production from roughly 20,000 bottles annually to approximately one million bottles in 2022. At the same time, the distillery has steadily introduced three or four new products each year of its existence. The company has also expanded beyond its own labels into private-label and co-packing work, and offers custom blending, flavoring, bottling, packaging, consulting and/or manufacturing services for outside brands. This diversified and lucrative operation gave Thomas and Renate a pivoting business that extends well beyond the fortunes of any single Mr. Tom's expression.
More than a decade after its founding, List Distillery remains part of the successful Florida Distillery Trail. Still, Thomas List's whiskey story cannot be separated from his wife's. Thomas brought formal hospitality training, casino experience, restaurant management and an entrepreneurial drive to the venture; Renate brought her own restaurant experience and a family connection to European distilling, reinforced by the craft she learned from her old-world kinsmen. Together the couple exchanged a successful but exhausting beachfront restaurant for a modern stillhouse and built List Distillery from the ground up. The distillery began as a small Fort Myers venture and quickly grew into a business routinely producing more than 100,000 cases of fine Florida spirits each year. And while the bourbon bearing the Mr. Tom's name may place Thomas at the front of the label, the distillery behind that bottle has always been the work of both members of the List duo working together, now, just as always.
Sources:
Spirit Hub, “Thomas List, Owner and Visionary of Mr. Tom's Spirits,” July 10, 2020, spirithub.com
Gulfshore Life, “The Best Fort Myers Craft Distillery to Gift Custom Spirits”, Lane Nieset, December 1, 2022, gulfshorelife.com
List Distillery official website, listdistillery.com
Visit Fort Myers, “List Distillery – Mr. Tom's Spirits”, visitfortmyers.com
Contributed by Tracy McLemore, Fairview, Tennessee
