(NOTE: FOUNDERS ARE LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Craft Distillery Whiskey Founders
Northeast States Region
The Northeast States Region includes the States of: New York, New Jersey, and 6 New England States
Below are links to Whiskey Founders that have made huge contributions to the growth of the Northeast States Region’s Whiskey Industry. These may be 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
David Baker
Litchfield
Born into an entrepreneurial legacy, David Baker and his brothers grew up in a close‑knit Connecticut family shaped by industry and innovation. This humble beginning was rooted in personal service and hard work. In 2014, David, Jack, and Peter felt a distillery would be a worthy venture. A few months later, Connecticut’s Litchfield Distillery was born.
2
Jeffrey Baker
Hillrock
Jeffrey Baker and his team built a fully integrated craft whiskey operation: the grain fields, the malting house, the copper stills and the barrel houses all live on or near the estate.Baker described the resulting spirit not just to a mash-bill but to a parcel of land.
3
Jason Barrett
Black Button
Jason Barrett positioned Black Button as a New York farm distillery rooted in local agriculture: grains from nearby farms, water from the Genesee Valley aquifer, an emphasis on small-batch production, the distillery’s distinctive “double pass” distillation approach, and its commitment to regionally sourced inputs.
4
Raj Peter Bhakta
Whistlepig
Bhakta’s most lasting contribution came not in finance or politics, but in spirits. In 2007, he bought a rundown dairy farm in Shoreham, Vermont. With the bourbon and rye categories heating up, Bhakta saw an opportunity others overlooked: premium rye whiskey. In 2010, he founded WhistlePig Whiskey,
5
Paul Coughlin
Taconic
Paul Coughlin’s story is interesting because it demonstrates a deliberate pivot from a career in finance to agriculture and spirits. In doing so, he turned a dormant New York farm property into a vibrant craft whiskey operation, embracing both bourbon and rye production, whiskies more closely associated with other states.
6
Ralph Erenzo
Tuthilltown Spirits
From the beginning, Ralph and his son, Gable, threw themselves into making whiskey. They started from almost zero: old buildings, a new license class, and a lot of trial-and-error. Their early focus produced a small-barrel, house-style whiskey that would become nationally known: Hudson Baby Bourbon.
7
Jason Grizzanti
Black Dirt
Jason Grizzanti knew that whiskey demanded new input: grains, mashing, longer aging, barrel work, and a different mindset. Nevertheless, in 2012 Jason and Jeremy formally created the Black Dirt Distilling LLC entity, and by 2013 the distillery in Pine Island, New York, included a 4,000 square foot building.
8
Michael Paladini
Penelope
Michael met his business partner (and neighbor), Danny Polise, and the two had an idea: start a bourbon company, not because they were distillers, but because they loved bourbon and believed that they understood what consumers truly valued in a good whiskey.
9
Dave Pickerell
Hillrock Estate
David Steven Pickerell was an American Chemical Engineer turned Master Distiller. He is credited as the founding father of the craft distilling movement and helped shape the modern American distilling industry as we know it. He once had the nickname “The Johnny Appleseed of American Whiskey” for the multitude of distilleries whose development he played a role in.
10
Adam Polonski
Lost Lantern
Adam had made firm commitments, both to Nora and to a new vision for his company. The couple settled in Vergennes, Vermont, close to where Nora grew up, and relatively quickly raised a seed round of $1 million to build their operation. They formally founded Lost Lantern Distillery in 2018; their first bottles came to market in 2020.
11
Mike Reppucci
Sons of Liberty
Mike Reppucci had a successful career in finance. However, in 2009, driven by his passion for craft spirits, he decided to leave his career in investing and pursue his dream of starting a distillery. This bold move led to the establishment of Sons of Liberty Spirits Company in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.
12
Colin Spoelman
Kings County Distillery
Spoelman began bringing back unmarked jugs of moonshine from his home in Kentucky to share with friends in New York City. He noticed something interesting: people in the Big Apple were utterly fascinated with the idea of real Appalachian moonshine; illegal, mysterious, and story-heavy.
13
Dave Willis
Bully Boy
Brothers Dave and Will Willis often talked about entrepreneurship, but their ideas rarely crystallized into plans until they revisited their family's farm one night. A long-forgotten stash of old whiskey bottles resurfaced in conversation, and with it, a bold idea: build Boston’s first craft distillery since Prohibition.
14
Lisa Wicker
Whiskey Thief
When Lisa Wicker stepped into whiskey, she proved to possess an instinct for flavor and production constraints, and soon helped put the young Limestone Branch Distillery on the map with her locally famous “MoonPie Moonshine,” a hit that kept the lights on while her barreled whiskey aged.
15
David Woods
Wiggly Bridge
Dave is best described as a quintessential entrepreneur, curious, determined, and endlessly inventive. He grew up in York Beach and graduated from York High School before briefly attending college. Now, he balances a bustling professional life with a close-knit family.