mrjeffthurmon

I can't keep quiet about this one...... The product that you "taste tested" was the best that they had to offer, the heart of the run. When you begin ordering in bulk you will get a different product, one that has more heads and tails than your "tasting". Since you do not make your own product, you cannot control the quality. That is a recipe for disaster. Your product cannot hope to compare to that of a real distillery and your consistency of quality will be laughable. Sorry, but that is the truth. Set aside another couple hundred grand, hire a distiller, and make real alcohol..... Best wishes.. Jeff T.

I want to say thanks to everyone on this site for their assistance to others! A great bunch of people with a variety of opinions. Sometimes I find it hard not to jump in and correct things, but for the most part great information for newbies. I don't claim to know everything there is to know either so I learn quite a bit here, Thanks everyone! Happy Holidays.

Well, Tito's is pretty much nationwide, by the way. You can go to about any liquor store or large chain if you live in part of the country where they sell liquor and find it.

Tito's price point places him in the Super Call category in bars. The price is just too high for most people. There are many Vodkas in a bar that will be lower priced. He won't sell well in bars until the demand brings it in and people keep ordering it there. Smirnoff, Stoli, Absolut, and others sell at a lower price and are therefor sold much more. For the price of Tito's in a bar you can go ahead and drink Grey Goose.

It is good quality vodka. Very clean and light no bitter punch to the tastebuds that some have. Yes, Tito's is that big. Check your local Walmart. If they sell liquor you will find Tito's on the shelves there. If not check your local liqour store and you will find it there. It doesn't matter what state you are in.....

I agree. I probably have a bit of presumption going here along with a little angst. Fifteen years ago I spent about four years pushing a guy who didn't think he was going to make it to make better product faster than he planned. My marketing expertise along and ability to learn on my feet pushed Tito to the place he is in today. Next year he will sell over a million cases based upon my original business plan along with a lot of sweat and labor. We liquor makers are a different breed. All of us have a specific angle of approach to the craft. There are many levels of success and many ways to move forward towards our goals. If you look to Chip Tate down at Balcones Distillery you will find an excellent distiller, however, he is limited by his methods so his bottles can cost up to $100 each and are available in limited numbers. The folks at Pinnacle have decided to throw multiple flavors of cheap vodka out and make bottles in the millions. Whatever you all decide great luck and best wishes to all. It is all a labor of love and a constant learning process. Peace.

Hello and best wishes for your success.

Nobody makes a perfect product. Tito's is not a perfect vodka, it is a very good vodka. Jack Daniels is not a perfect whiskey, though some may disagree with that point as well. Marketing, consistency of product, and availability will drive the market along with many other factors, we all know that. I like your post about the KFC formula! DId you guys see that guy on TV who went around attempting to replicate all of the secret formulas? He got to the point where he thought he had KFC down, but the fryer they use cannot be sold to the public. The manufacurer actually loaned him one and according to the tasters he was very close.

Do you think Kellogg’s is going to show you how to make your own Rice Krispies or Shredded Wheat? After that maybe Coke will open their vault to show you the formula for Coca Cola (never patented because that would make it public record). Large corporations have hidden processes, temperatures, and ingredients that they NEVER disclose to the public or they would put themselves out of business. Every one has a secret that makes their particular brand stand out above the rest and they will not disclose that secret to you. The employees of these companies sign lengthy non disclosure agreements and non compete agreements to keep their people from stealing trade secrets. Another good example, the eleven herbs and spices in KFC. The formula is split so that none of the employees EVER sees the complete formula. Part is made in one location, part in another. Do you know why Grey Goose tastes so much better than the rest of the premium vodkas? You can ask them and they will tell you some bs about water or whatever, but the truth is something completely different.

So you think it is hilarious that a person or persons would invest their life savings and years of labor going the wrong direction following bad advice? There is a good chance I could help you progress more rapidly in your own venture, and maybe my advice could make you very wealthy or just save you millions in bad future decisions. I think that is what this site is about and I will hold that line.

A quick story about Tito's Vodka, Jeff, and Willie Nelson in Wimberly Texas in 2000 By Jeff Thurmon It was a beautiful Sunday in 2000. Just another day for me working at Tito's Handmade Vodka. I woke up at Tito’s house by Lake Austin and started getting ready for the Hill Country Wine and Food Festival. Tito and I would be giving away vodka shooters all day, and my friend Ron Weber was coming down from Fort Worth to help us out. Our task for the day was to set up free shots for hundreds of thirsty people who would be coming by the Tito’s booth for liquor and good times. We showed up early and found the booth, then got the ice, coolers, mixer, signs, tooters, T shirts, and whatnot from Tito’s SUV and headed into the show. Set up went fast, and before we knew it we were surrounded by a party. Myself and Tito were giving away the liquor rapidly as well as imbibing a bit ourselves with the locals. Well, the Wine and Food festival lasts for about eight hours or so, and the line stays steady until they become unsteady, which does not curtail the revelry a bit. We were all having a great time. Before you know it pictures have been taken, much vodka has been consumed. There has been a jazz concert, and it was a beautiful day. I have had a busy day informing and imbibing, and probably at this point I have had about fifteen to fifty shots of Tito’s Vodka, a few beers, and some wine. A typical day selling Vodka. Ron, Tito, and I load up the trucks then start partying in the parking lot with the folks from the festival. There is a girl in a cowboy hat hanging on Tito, and a couple of ladies hanging around me and Ron. All is good as we are all single at the time. Well, the ladies Ron and I are talking to keep saying they need to go see “Willie”, who I assume is their boyfriend or drug dealer, so I say "No way". It occurs to me that I should find out who this Willie character is, so I ask, “Willie who?” Their reply in unison was “Willie Nelson!” Now that changes everything. It turns out the ladies own a business in Wimberly. They told us that the business had a view of the stage where that night Willie Nelson would be playing in concert. They planned to go watch the concert from the front porch. Well, I was easily convinced, and Ron was too so off we all went to see Willie. Ron and I followed the lady's car towards the concert. About five miles from Wimberly, the ladies said they had to go home to sober up or something like that, and gave us directions. So, Ron and I head into Wimberly and park my BMW in the street. We get to the business where we are supposed to be able to see the concert and sit on the porch. We can hear the first band playing, but cannot see them at all. We sit there for a minute studying the scenery, and notice that the “door person” at the gate next to us is a girl too young to be a door person. Ron and I formulate a plan. We walk up to the young girl and Ron says, “I really have to use the bathroom. Do you think I could use that one?” Ron points to the bathrooms about fifty feet away inside the gates. “You can, but you have to come right back.” She says convincing herself this would actually happen. I chime in, “I have to go too, is that okay?” “Okay. But come right back.” She says. "I will." I state calmly, and in we are in. Now we started partying. We buy beers from the vendors, and began speaking with some locals. One of the girls wanted a Tito’s T shirt, so I have Ron get some T shirts and Vodka out of my BMW so we could give some away. I figure we can give some to the people we are talking to and then if we get lucky to Willie and his band. Ron talks his way out the front gate, then back in again with T shirts and a over a case of 1/2 pints of Tito's Handmade. Next we had to get back stage, so Ron who is having to speak for me at this point due to the high level of alcohol I have consumed used a T shirt, and some of the Tito’s to get some back stage passes from Pootie. Once we got back stage, we gave the crew some vodka and T shirts, the I went out front again so I could watch Willie. Willie played an outstanding show, what an incredible talent! After the show, Willie stood out front and signed a hundred or more autographs. I watched in amazement as he signed babies, hats, arms, you name it. I have been to many concerts, but Willie spent more time with the audience than anyone I have seen. When Willie started moving backstage, I did too. The crush back there was getting crazy. Willie was approaching, and I had Ron next to me with a pint of Tito’s and a T shirt to give him. “So, you’re the ones giving my crew all the vodka.” Says Willie. “That’s us.” I reply. Ron hands Willie the T shirt. “Is this for me?” asks Willie. It was, but Ron says, “Can you sign it?” and before I can say anything, Willie has signed the shirt, and taken the vodka. Ron was supposed to give them both to Willie, and I was too hammered to say anything at the time. Before I knew it Willie was locked down on his tour bus, and I turned and contemplated the day. Tito and I had given away cases of vodka a shot at a time at the Hill Country Wine & Food Festival, then Ron and I had given away about a case and a half of Tito's to the crowd and crew during Willie's concert. I began to wonder if Willie would be pissed at me for getting his crew bombed while he was on stage. It must have worked out okay, as I have seen pictures of Tito and Willie together since then. I hope Tito has given Willie at least one Tito's Handmade Vodka T-shirt, if not one for every day of the week. The day was a great success from a marketing standpoint. Many people learned about Tito's between the Wine and Food Festival and Willie's concert, including Willie Nelson himself. I got to enjoy a concert by the greatest musician in Texas history. Thank you Wimberly. Thank you Willie. Thank you Pootie for letting us back stage. And God Bless Pootie who has since passed.

I am looking for a new project. My position with Tito's was: Every part of the operation. I gave up my business in Dallas, moved into Tito's house, and between Tito and myself, we did everything on the site. I drew up the plans for the buildings and equipment spacing and made sure it was built to spec. Manipulated the old machinery to work as efficiently as possible, spent many many days and nights in bars, restaurants and liquor stores and going to people's homes giving away product and samples, got us into many stores, and into newspapers and onto TV. When I wasn't doing that I ran the operation, ordering inventory, running all the mechanisms from grain to pallet. I kept the records, met with the regulatory authorities, and made sure we stayed in compliance. When I wasn't working to improve Tito's I was thnking about working to improve Tito's. Tito and I spent many days and nights together at trade shows, tastings, or just sitting on his front porch in Austin drinking, playing the guitar, and singing songs we would make up while laughing the night away. Other days and nights we would be building new equipment or trying to get some POS new forklift we bought at a discount to work. Many times we would be working just to keep up with the increasing demand we were creating.

I believe the intent of the law is to provide the public with unadulterated clear neutral spirits straight from the distillery with no additives, coloring, or flavorings. To me, and accomplished taster of many brands, I can promise you that EVERY liquor has a distinct flavor profile. Each one made in a different region from a different mix of ingredients and run through a different process will deliver a "different and distinct" flavor of its own. The influences are way too far ranging to discuss at one time, but if you were to say that every liquor with a distinct flavor should be eliminated then every bottle would have to come off of the shelves and poured into race cars that don't give a hoot about flavoring or quality of finished product.

Hello Houston! I helped Tito start up his operation in Austin and was there from 1998-2002. I would like to discuss your operation and maybe come by if you have time to talk. Drop me a personal message, or email me from my site: www.JeffThurmon.com

I don't think you will find investors for a liquor business with no sales and no track record, so selling equity would be very difficult. Using your personal funds for a smaller start up and retaining your equity makes much more sense. If you have a rich uncle that needs a tax write off for a few years then you have a shot. Sales of 3-5000 cases for your first year would be miraculous but if you are in an area with high foot traffic and you can get them into your plant for tours then you can sell this much or more. Most decent sized distilleries do not give tours of their operations. You can go there and see some old stills that started the business, but nobody shows you the magic behind the real scene or everyone would be a distiller.

I agree with the other posters, but would like to add that alcohol will burn off at a lower temp than you think. I suggest lowering your temperature in order to allow the higher alcohols to lift off properly because it sounds to me like you are running hot. A higher temp has a tendency to draw off water with it as you approach its boiling point. The closer you are to the boiling point of water the more water you will draw across. You can raise the temp as you get into the heart of the run, but expect the abv to drop when you do. Also, is the alcohol level you are speaking of an aggregate amount from the total run or the beginning, middle, or end of the run? The level will vary during the run and the end result (abv) will be lower than the beginning (abv) of the run for sure.

I think it will depend on your quality of production and the amount of tourist you can drive through your operation. In Texas there is a touristy area with a new start up that a friend of mine tells me sold many many cases in their first few months due to their tasting room onsite. The area has several wineries and this company got right into their midst. 600 cases of vodka should be enough for your first year in, but it may be all you need for eternity if you make poor quality liquor because nobody will buy it. Other liquors have to be processed for longer periods of time, such as your whiskeys and will not be available for a couple of years, how will you determine how many cases of that to put on hold? If you get your permits in place, contact me and I will discuss more.

I will not discuss operations at Fifth Generation (Tito's) but Tito does make some great liquor doesn't he? I am always surprised by the poor quality alcohols such as Ketel selling so well in comparison. My agreement with Tito does not allow me to tell you about the tedious and time consuming processes that occur at his plant. I will consult individually with any business owner for a negotiable fee. People who take my advice have been known to prosper.(Tito's, others) People who do not take my advice are likely to go bankrupt. (De Los) Best wishes.

Simply stated, no. Maybe you could add on another 400 feet of space for an office and handicapped accessible bathroom that you could shut off from the main room, then you would have enough space for a basic start up as long as you have another bonded container on site to store your liquor in. Another main concern of a start up distillery is waste water. What do you plan to do with the tails when your distill is complete? You cannot simply put them into the water that fronts your property or you will face very stiff penalties from the EPA. (Tito's paid $50k for ground water contamination so I can only imagine what the fine would be for a lake.) Another consideration is your acreage. If you are successful, you will need to grow rapidly, best to start with several acres. Best wishes.

Hello to all! I was at Tito's from 1998-2002 helping Tito start up the monster that he has today. Do I miss the business? Absolutely. Just like moonshining, it gets in your blood, the smell of the alcohol burning off, the steamy rooms, labeling, stacking the cases, and putting them in the trucks on the pallets was awesome and I am very proud of what we set up and what Tito has accomplished from the meager start he had down in Austin Tx. Best wishes to all of you.

As the distiller and only other person on site at Tito's from 1998-2001 and the distiller at the helm making the hooch when we won the award at the World Spirits festival in 2001 I feel that I should stand up for TIto. In the very beginning we taste tested all the vodkas in the premium category and decided to take them on. Perfecting our techniques allowed us to achieve our goals and bring a high quality product to the market at an affordable price. When I met Tito he told me that he would be happy if he could make $300k a year, but my goals were much higher. I haven't been down there for a few years, but I do know Tito well. Success will not change him that much. He does not spend time on the internet or worrying about what people think about him. He just continues to make larger batches the same way we made the small batches when all we had was one small wood building. The investment in time and equipment I am sure have been extraordinary on his behalf in order to keep up with the growth. Tito never claimed to be a "craft" vodka, he said his vodka is "handmade". He didn't say that HIS hands made it. Have you ever made a batch of hooch without using your hands? Impossible. Somebody's hands are on the job. I am also the guy who used to give the tours at Tito's since I was always at the shop. We did that until we figured out that people were coming by to spy on our operation in order to figure out how to start their own distillery. Also that was a ploy to draw attention to our distillery which eventually was no longer needed, since people began knowing who Tito's was, and who Tito was. From a great month being 300 cases sold to where Tito is today has been a labor of love that has taken over 15 years. Now Tito lives that old American Dream that we all hear about, and I couldn't be prouder of his growth and success. The overhead and labor hours are daunting for any startup, and taxes and regulation are difficult to keep up with. Tito used to move all of his debt from one credit card to another in order to get the year of 0% interest on the new card for however long they offered it. He would pay the taxes with the credit line on the new card in order to keep us afloat. HIs wife was divorcing him at the time, and she was trying to take everything she could. Luckily she did not see any value in the distillery but nonetheless she put additional financial and emotional strain on TIto that he could have lived without I am sure. Fortunately things worked out in the end.