Going commercial in Ohio

[bagmanhd1]

I've been here on this forum for the last 5 years, and have enjoyed the collective wisdom. You fellow distillers are truly friends.

Over the past 2 years I've shared my UJSSM around, and have gotten a great response. Actually, more than great. 2 weeks ago I was approached by a friend of a friend who had a sample. We started talking, and now we wonder what it takes to go commercial in Ohio.

Can anyone help?

[blind drunk]

Do you know this -

http://adiforums.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[King Of Hearts]

It takes a good business plan and the will.

[Prairiepiss]

Uncle Jesse made a thread that showed a lot of what needs to happen. Third sticky down in the off topic discussion section.

opening a legal distillery in the U.S.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2833

[rad14701]

It takes money... Lots of money...

[RevSpaminator]

More than money, it takes persistance. There is ALWAYS a way, just keep trying because you will be told no a lot and get a lot of discouraging "advice". I opened a hot dog cart once and THAT was a pain. Selling the devil's drink will be even harder. Be prepared for the people who think you are a godless communist just for asking what it takes.

[King Of Hearts]

Be prepared for the people who think you are a godless communist just for asking what it takes.

So you've met my wife?

[WalkingWolf]

Thought this may have a place in this thread. There is nothing like the voice of experience.

. . . A word to all those who want to start a distillery--. I’ve been at this going on three years, and still to make a cent, I have how ever, paid off all my equipment, but if I had to pay rent or pay wages I would be broke by now. I still think about how fun it was to make Uncle Jesse’s in the garage, and how I smiled when that first drop came out the spout. Now it’s a lot of work, and there is no way us small folks can compete with those million dollar advertising campaigns. My advise to all, have fun, get better at it, and keep quite about what you do. Thanks again Wolf.

[King Of Hearts]

Like I said, you need a good business plan, for any business, and a love for what you do, if you dont have that why bother.

[bagmanhd1]

Update: Had a nice talk with a guy from Ohio Commerce. He was genuinely interested in helping me get started. Ohio changed their law back in March, so it's now relatively easy to get the proper permits. He said it would take longer to get my equipment than the permits. Figure about 2 months. As far as the feds go, it's more compicated. Figure about 3 months. Finding the right location has been the biggest problem. Need gas to fire the boiler, water, and the right size sewer. Finding it all together is not easy out here in the country.

Might have a breakthrough...I went to college with the guy that is the GM for LDI, the huge contract distillery in Lawrenceburg IN. Having lunch with him next week to see if we can put a deal together. I would have to give up some control, but wouldn't have any of the headaches of start up or manufacturing. In Ohio, the sole distributor is the state, so I'll only have 1 customer.

Started the process of trademarking our label.

More later....

[King Of Hearts]

Update: Had a nice talk with a guy from Ohio Commerce. He was genuinely interested in helping me get started. Ohio changed their law back in March, so it's now relatively easy to get the proper permits. He said it would take longer to get my equipment than the permits. Figure about 2 months. As far as the feds go, it's more compicated. Figure about 3 months. Finding the right location has been the biggest problem. Need gas to fire the boiler, water, and the right size sewer. Finding it all together is not easy out here in the country.

Might have a breakthrough...I went to college with the guy that is the GM for LDI, the huge contract distillery in Lawrenceburg IN. Having lunch with him next week to see if we can put a deal together. I would have to give up some control, but wouldn't have any of the headaches of start up or manufacturing. In Ohio, the sole distributor is the state, so I'll only have 1 customer.

Started the process of trademarking our label.

More later....

That's cool. But you'll have to distribute in many states. And you'll need to market the crap out of it, even locally. Promote it at bars and tastings at stores etc, etc. You'll need lots of free help too. Pick a site close to people where they can visit, help bottle, share in your experience.

[Boda Getta]

Good luck, I wish you the best; but I'm not optimistic. I hope you prove me wrong.

BG

[Durace11]

Get going on Social Networking asap, create a FB, Twitter, etc. Get the word out as quick and as free as possible. Start a blog on how the proces is going. You'll likely get a lot of readers just from people like us who are dreaming of doing the same. Also, don't forget to enjoy it! Good luck

[Ateliervie]

Don't forget about your local zoning. That can be by far the biggest hurdle.

[King Of Hearts]

Don't forget about your local zoning. That can be by far the biggest hurdle.

That's actually where you have to start. Once you find a site and have your business plan & financing & lawyer, go to the town chamber of commerce/town hall and present them the plan and hash out any issues they have and get it in writing. You will also have to tell any neighbors around the site and see if anyone objects.

[bagmanhd1]

Good advice people. If I go with a contract distiller, I won't have to worry about zoning, equipment, packaging, etc... Promotion wise, I've had no less that 4 guys tell me they'll go to bars to promote it, no charge. They're good friends, and they are jazzed about promoting a home made product. FB posting will really create a buzz. I'm going to wait until I have a firm plan in place. One of my connections runs 3 of the hottest bars in Cincinnati. She wants this stuff bad because it's local. They could easily go thru 40 cases a month.

[moonshine guy]

Bagmanhd1, keep us all posted here for I know that many of us would love to go the same route!

[rad14701]

I don't think it's as easy as you're making it out to be, even in Ohio... Think long and hard, and do more than plenty of research... And it never hurts to get yourself a lawyer to do some initial investigating either... You'll need one sooner or later anyway... If it was easy we'd all be going commercial...

[GuyFawkes]

keep us updated on how everything goes, this is something I am really interested in. I do think that always with any business, you have the most momentum in the beginning, so if you can get it going while you are still very motivated, you are golden

dont underestimate your obstacles though, and always be realistic. relying on friends who do things for "free" is great in concept, but sometimes they offer things at first then realize they cant do it.... the benefit to paying someone is you know it will be done

[astronomical]

contract distiller, as in, make a fancy ass label and sell it as microdistilled liquor when its really just cranked out by some large company...

thats the same as all the other $40 a 375ml swill on the shelf...

correct me if I'm wrong

most of the "microdistilled" stuff I've bought has sucked... I'd rather have bought a big brand name... Only a monkey ass elitist would think the whiskey was superior to JB or something... Sure, some are good, but for the most part it's just a game of abusing the word "microdistilled" and selling it to people who don't know whiskey from goat piss.

off topic:

anybody taste all these new flavored whiskeys coming out distilleries ears...what are they, like, 50% glycerine? fucking syrup!

[GuyFawkes]

off topic:
anybody taste all these new flavored whiskeys coming out distilleries ears...what are they, like, 50% glycerine? fucking syrup!

you mean like the new JD and captain stuff? my peer group is all over that, I cant stand it. Tastes like medicine mixed with lighter fluid..... blech

[King Of Hearts]

off topic:
anybody taste all these new flavored whiskeys coming out distilleries ears...what are they, like, 50% glycerine? fucking syrup!

you mean like the new JD and captain stuff? my peer group is all over that, I cant stand it. Tastes like medicine mixed with lighter fluid..... blech

Worse than crap, they should just put it in our gas tanks.

[bagmanhd1]

lunch went well. my buddy is a wealth of information. bad news is LDI's minimum run is 12,000 gallons, and they can't handle sugar. good news is he knows 3 micros, 2 in KY and 1 in TN that can handle a decent batch size. i'm going to be calling them next week. my OH govt. contact sent me info on how to sell to the state....different department in the monster government in OH.

biggest thing is this: going commercial is all about marketing and distribution. you can make the best product ever, but without marketing and distribution, you'll fail for sure. even a crappy product will sell with good M and D.

more later...

[GuyFawkes]

even a crappy product will sell with good M and D

*cough* captain morgan *cough*
IMO, cough syrup mixed with rubbing alcohol would taste better than that garbage, and yet it gets so much praise because people are sheep and the idiot box tells them to buy it..... oh well

theres just no way any good rum can be sold for less than $15 for a fifth, especially with the tax on alcohol. there is NO way, even if you were able to get high-quality molasses for dirt cheap somehow

[Ateliervie]

Don't forget about your local zoning. That can be by far the biggest hurdle.

That's actually where you have to start. Once you find a site and have your business plan & financing & lawyer, go to the town chamber of commerce/town hall and present them the plan and hash out any issues they have and get it in writing. You will also have to tell any neighbors around the site and see if anyone objects.

Indeed, that's where we started. We received all of our permits and are getting busy, legally. Guess what? After you get your permits, there's even more red tape! Fun, fun, nonstop.

[bagmanhd1]

Starting up a distillery is a HUGE undertaking, and you need a LOT of money. So much so, that I'm having conversations with 3 other licensed small batch distilleries to do a few contract runs for me. This way I can get product to market much faster and easier

[GuyFawkes]

I am curious to see where it might be best to start for anyone who wants to get into this, maybe trying to get a job at an already standing commercial distillery, or maybe finding a job working at a bar or something to try and get acclimated to the local and federal liquor laws before actually undertaking the monumental task of actually starting the business would be smart. Plus, if you get a job at a large-ish distiller, you could see some of their processes and such

I dunno, could be helpful, dont you think?

[King Of Hearts]

Starting up a distillery is a HUGE undertaking, and you need a LOT of money. So much so, that I'm having conversations with 3 other licensed small batch distilleries to do a few contract runs for me. This way I can get product to market much faster and easier

Small micros would do it, same as micro beers.

[bagmanhd1]

sorry i let this go dormant for so long. duty calls. here is the update...found a location in the right part of town. real estate in cincinnati is stupid cheap. perfect for a micro operation, plus room to host private parties. that requires an additional license, but i'm not worried. brought in my son and his friend a a partner, since they'll be doing most of the work. found a lawyer who will do all of the legal work for about a grand, which sounds like a good deal. my daughter and her friend will be doing the marketing. put a deposit down on a 200 gallon micro still, delivery in 12 months or less. less is better, and the maker knows it. found a fab guy that can hook up all of the plumbing.

now we just need money...but we have a plan for that too.

[drinkingdog]

It all sounds good. Glad you are making progress. Keep us informed I don't live to far from Cinci so I'll be able to come see your operation when you get it up and running.