Jim Chasteen and Charlie Thompson, after experimenting with distilling during college, established their own distillery, A.S.W., with a focus on rye whiskey. Initially facing challenges, they learned about the craft and the market's trends over five years. Their decision to produce a clear spirit, American Spirit Whiskey, played into the growing cocktail culture in Atlanta. A.S.W. has achieved significant recognition, winning more awards than any other craft distillery at major competitions, showcasing their entrepreneurial journey and timely market entry.
"So we literally Googled how to make it and built a little still at my house in Atlanta," Chasteen explained, reflecting on their humble beginnings in distilling.
"I could tell you that we knew that the cocktail movement was going to blow up in Atlanta and that rye whiskey was going to have a big comeback... but we just were very fortunate that we started distilling when there was this convergence of trends."
"It took five years of lessons learned for us to seriously consider making whiskey full time. We finally thought, Well, we either need to go for it or let it go."
Collection
[
|
...
]