Craft Whiskey Founders
Ocean States
The Ocean States Region includes the States of: California and Hawaii
Below are links to Whiskey Founders that have made huge contributions to the growth of the Pacific 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.
(NOTE: FOUNDERS ARE LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
1
Derek Benham
Redwood Empire
In 2013, after three decades in wine, Derek Benham saw an opening for American whiskey in California. Looking at the cool, humid climate of the Russian River Valley, he believed the region was ideal for long, slow barrel aging, so it was there that he committed to building a distillery in the small town of Graton.
2
Amy Bohner
Alchemy Distillery
Amy and Steve Bohner created Alchemy Distillery in Arcata, California in 2010. Rather than purchasing neutral spirits for bottling, they committed themselves from the outset to producing genuine grain-to-bottle spirits. Their objective was to reflect and celebrate the spirit traditions of Humboldt County, California.
3
Earl Brown
Wright & Brown
Brown and Daniel Wright grew up together there as childhood friends, surrounded by farming families and a rural culture that emphasized growing, making, and preserving food. That background eventually became the beginning of Wright & Brown Distilling Company, which they finally founded in 2014.
4
Yuseff Cherney
Cutwater Spirits
Cutwater Spirits was officially established as a separate company in 2017, with Yuseff Cherney as Master Distiller. But Cutwater Spirits was not just another craft distillery, it was the realization of decades of brewing and distilling expertise, combined with a bold belief in innovation and accessibility.
5
J.H. Cutter
J.H. Cutte
John H. Cutter blended and bottled whiskey that began to be recognized for consistent high quality, and sold it under his own name. In 1858, with his business already established, John H. Cutter merged his firm with that of Louisville wholesaler Charles P. Moorman. Moorman and Milton J. Hardy, Cutter’s son-in-law, served as junior partners
6
Jeff Duckhorn
Redwood Empire
As Master Distiller at Redwood Empire Distillery, Jeff Duckhorn oversees a portfolio that currently includes five straight whiskeys: Pipe Dream Bourbon, Emerald Giant Rye, and Lost Monarch, Grizzly Beast Bourbon and Rocket Top Rye, which is aged five years at the Sonoma County facility.
7
Michael Griffo
Griffo Distillery
Michael Griffo later expanded his grain-spirit work with his Stout Barreled Whiskey, using a bourbon-style mash bill with roasted malts, combining corn sweetness with malty earthiness. Then, the whiskey was sent for stout-barrel maturation, gaining the whiskey a nutty, chocolate-like influence from the barrels.
8
Lewis Harsanyi
L.A. Distillery
Harsanyi drew on his decades of experience to build a distillery that integrated advanced control systems with copper pot stills calibrated for consistency. The facility produces a range of small-batch spirits, including rye whiskey, single malt, and bourbon whiskey, which became a central expression of his craft.
9
Jason Jorgensen
Alley 6 Distillery
Jason Jorgensen had his first experience with spirits as a cook, then moved behind the bar after repeatedly asking the bar manager for work. He was hired him as a barback, and Jorgensen advanced first to head bartender and later to bar manager himself. By 2017, he had accumulated 15 years in bars and restaurants.
10
Bruce Joseph
Hotaling
Bruce Joseph’s story is one of passion, perseverance, and a lifelong love for spirits and the city of San Francisco. Having grown up in California’s Central Valley, about 90 miles east of San Francisco, after high school, Bruce headed to San Francisco State University. In 1980, he found work at Anchor Brewing. Hired as a brewer right out of college.
11
Milorad Karakasevic
Charbay
As a teenager, Milorad Karasevic was already being shaped for a life at the still. He formally entered the family distilling operation, learning through repetition and responsibility rather than instruction manuals. This was apprenticeship in its purest form: you learned by doing, by failing quietly, and by tasting constantly.
12
Stephen Kroener
KROBĀR
In 2012, alongside business partner Joe Barton, Stephen Kroener launched KROBĀR Craft Distillery with a vision rooted in a blend of heritage and modern technique. The name “KROBĀR” is a portmanteau referencing Kroener’s surname and Barton’s (KRO + BAR), and is emblematic of their shared ethos of collaboration.
13
Timo Marshall
Spirit Works
Timo Marshall supplied Spirit Works Distillery with an inherited English tradition, an operational discipline, and an outspoken commitment to showing how spirits are actually made. His wife, Ashby, turned their plan into a rigorous production program. The finished bottle carries the results of their shared work.
14
Clayton Mendel
Devil’s Creek
William “Clayton” Mendel was born on May 16, 1980, and his life is firmly rooted in Mammoth Lakes, California, a place where altitude, weather, and self-reliance shape work ethic. When Devils Creek Distillery began operations in late 2015, Mendel emerged as the individual responsible for the spirit’s core character.
15
Cyrus Noble
Cyrus Noble
Cyrus Noble was drawn westward. He tried his luck in the California gold fields, but unsuccessfully; dejected he returned home to Ohio. Still needing a livelihood, Noble took work at the Freiberg & Workum operation in Lynchburg, Ohio. The Cincinnati-based firm had acquired the former Bowen Distillery.
16
Lauren Patz
Redwood Empire
Lauren Patz began working alongside Master Distiller Jeff Duckhorn, who had already directed the production of the company’s early California-made whiskey. Redwood Empire began as a whiskey project which initially built its brands with mature whiskey from outside distilleries while its own stocks were maturing.
17
Dave Phinney
Savage & Cooke
Dave Phinney collaborated with retired basketball star Scottie Pippen on DIGITS Bourbon. The whiskey was assembled from barrels sourced in Indiana and Tennessee, with the bourbon in the blend aged at least five years. Phinney and Pippen jointly selected the barrels, then they were matured in Savage & Cooke’s barrelhouse.
18
Rob Rubens
R6 Distillery
in 2014, Rob Rubens founded R6 Distillery in El Segundo, California. R6 Distillery is a grain-to-glass, familyowned operation focused on small batch spirits made from locally sourced ingredients. The distillery’s ethos emphasizes authenticity and eschewing shortcuts that compromise quality.
19
Jörg Rupf
St. George Spirits
Jörg Rupf left the legal profession in the late 1970s and began applying his family’s Black Forest distilling knowledge to California agriculture. He initially worked at Veedercrest Vineyards, but in 1982, he founded St. George Spirits, operating with a 65-gallon Holstein copper pot still and concentrating on eau-de-vie.
20
David Souza
Corbin Cash
David Souza eventually sold his businesses and returned home to Atwater, determined to build a “farm-to-bottle” brand. Back on the family’s sweet-potato farm, he began experimenting with distillation. He ordered parts online, and built a small still from two beer kegs, copper pipe, and an electric cooktop.
21
Adam Spiegel
Sonoma Distilling
Spiegel’s approach emphasized three major points: grain-to-glass production without sourcing; traditional double distillation in copper pot stills, inspired by Scottish and Cognac methods, using direct flame rather than steam; and local, non-GMO California grains, all sourced within 100 miles of his distillery.
22
Sean Venus
Venus Spirits
Sean Venus released Wayward Whiskey in January 2015, less than a year after beginning distillation. The expression was a single malt made with organic two-row barley and organic crystal malt. The wash was produced in a 10-barrel brewhouse and double-distilled in a hand-hammered copper Spanish-made still.
23
Alex Villicana
Re:Find Distillery
Alex Villicana became part of an effort to establish the Central Coast as a distilling region. He helped lead the Paso Robles Distillery Trail and has served in industry and civic positions, including chairman of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance and also becoming a San Luis Obispo County planning commissioner.
24
Lance Winters
St. George Spirits
In 1996, after a few years of distilling, Winters mustered the courage to approach Jörg Rupf, founder of St. George Spirits, with a bottle of his homemade spirit as a résumé. Rupf’s admittedly blunt evaluation, “That’s inoffensive,” could have discouraged anyone