RyeWater

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You become a master distillery by calling yourself a master distiller haha. The title Master Distiller is more or less entirely self proclaimed and means little to nothing about someone's actual understanding of spirits distillation at this point!

Vendomes prices are pretty outragous, I was in the process of buying a still from them 8 or 9 years ago when they did a 30-40% price increase on all products because demand was so hot and their lead times were over 12 months....prices have only gone up from there. I dont usually reccomend them unless you have deep pockets and focusing primarily on whiskey. I would at least consider a Kothe out of Germany, they broke off of CARL 40 some years ago and CARL has been making stills since the 1800s. It is what we operate, flawless manufactuing and competetive prices. You could get a 1000L Kothe Pot, four 2450L Zottel Ferms, a 2000L Kothe Mash tank for around $200-225k delivered and that would leave you around 200K for boiler,chiller,pumps,buildout, etc. If you want, I'd be happy to take a look over your projected equipment list / startup expences and let you know if there are any areas you are over/under estimating. I will say that once you're operational, its very hard to save the money up to expand operations for one reason or another... Even with success its difficult to squirrl away the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed without something coming up that demands those funds! We are actually upsizing from our 1000L Kothe system to a 2000L right now and it is a pricey endevour for sure...I dont think it will meet your timeframe but we are selling our current system (1000L Kothe Pot, 3x 2450L Zottel Ferms, and 2000L Mash tank) for $160,000. Goes to show you what you can get on the used market and I wouldnt shy away from used equipment from quality manufactuers, it will outlast us both! I would consider finding a business partner who can help share the work load and help increase starting capital to around 500k.

This would heavily depend on location, could you share with us your target town, and within that town a target location. These numbers are really hard to pin down without knowing the area you will be operating out of. We operate in frederick, maryland and sell out of our tasting room around 25,000 bottles a year and an additional 60,000 in distrobution (we are in year 7). Year one we sold around 7,500 out of the tasting room and 12,000 in distro, we were early to the game and we reinvest all profits into growth. We consult for disilleries all over and the sales numbers will vary widly depending on location and business plan. We always advise on building multiple income streams into your plan when starting. For example private events (weddings) have been an incredible tool we and others have used to be profittble right out of the gate (we have sold hundreds of weddings at $8,000 a piece) which allows you to focus your income streams on growing your brand. Once you have a location in mind if you want to reach out to me I'd be happy to share with you my thoughts of the location, projections as well as revenue streams that may suit the location well. My advice is usually scary, go big or stay home, that doesnt mean you need to spend a million dollars on equipment alone but it does mean dont bother opening if you cant afford/produce quality everything (Equipment, Furnishings, Packaging, Marketing). If you look at all the distilleries going bankrupt and trying to sell their "turnkey" operations they typically all have some common denomenators of budget equipment manufacturers, budget location, and budget packaing. As unfortune as it is the truth of the matter is anyone starting now is a little late to the game and cant afford to come out of the gate slow and learn as they go. Most towns suitable for a profitable distillery already have one and you will be competing with right out of the gate and if your location/equipment/branding isnt clearly superior to guests walking through your door you will really struggle to keep turn a profit. Final piece of advice...dont skimp on the still. Dont buy chinese and dont by from a manufacter that opened in the last decade (que the new manufactuers disagreeing), dont buy a mainly stainless system packed with copper BS. Your guests will judge the quality of your spirits long before they actually taste them based on the qulaity of your production floor. This is especially true if you are opening in a town with an established disitllery.

I would strongly advise against stills smaller than 250 gallons for a commercial application where selling bottles is at the core of your business model. If your focus is more toward onsite operations (events/cocktails/tasting room sales) then you can get away with a smaller still. But, if you have any real success and you have a 100-gallon still on your production floor then you are going to have a hell of a time trying to meet demand and will be spending a fortune on labor (or all your time) running distillations. If you do go with a larger still (200 gallon+) I would not to consider locations without Natural Gas and 3P power unless there are no other options. Ideally, you want steam jacket heating and a natural gas-powered boiler for even cooking and low utility bills.

Brand new in plastic 600L (159 Gal) Zottel stainless steel tanks on wheels. 4 Available. Good for spirit holding/blending/bottling. $2,500 ea. FOB 21701 (Frederick, Maryland) Stainless Steel AISI 304 (1.4301), Mirror polished inside (BA/IIId), Circle polished outside Equipment: welded legs on four fixed and guide wheels manhole cover O385 mm total outlet – port 1,5" TC racking port 1,5" TC sample tap DN15 handle

Yes, Frederick, MD

Yes, they are! will be available for pickup 3 months after down payment is put down.

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