Skate Shop Operators-Turned-Vodka Distillers Help Pernod Ricard's Local Effort
21 Juillet 2017 - 01:15AM
Dow Jones News
By Michael Rovner
One of the biggest liquor companies in the world plans to begin
distilling vodka in Manhattan in October.
OUR/Vodka, a unit of Pernod Ricard, will open a Chelsea
distillery to sell a wheat-based vodka.
There are 21 distilleries currently operating in New York City,
with 18 in Brooklyn, two in the Bronx, and one in Queens, according
to data gathered on July 13 from the New York State Liquor
Authority. OUR/Vodka would be the only one in Manhattan.
The majority of ingredients will be sourced from New York state
farms. That will allow the business to qualify for a farm
distillery license, which requires 75% of ingredients to be sourced
from the state. License holders are allowed to distill up to 75,000
gallons of spirits a year, host on-site tastings, sell at farmers
markets, and open off-site locations.
OUR/Vodka has spent years arranging everything, including
signing up a couple of New York entrepreneurs to run the
distillery. The saga began in October 2013, when the phone rang at
Dave's Wear House, a skate shop on Baxter Street. The caller
identified himself as a talent scout for a spirits company. "We
thought the guy wanted us to design a T-shirt. Maybe we'd get a few
free bottles," said Kevin Carney, 47 years old, co-owner of the
business along with Dave Ortiz, 47, a former graffiti artist.
The scout visited their shop the following day and introduced
himself as Thurman Wise, but he didn't reveal that he was working
on behalf of OUR/Vodka. Mr. Carney suggested he hire them to throw
a party. Mr. Wise, 32, agreed to consider it and offered that maybe
they could also run the distillery.
"Our friends are really into elaborate practical jokes and this
guy had hair down to his shoulders. His arms, hands and neck are
covered in tattoos. He wore patent leather loafers with no socks.
We thought we were getting punked, but we went with it," said Mr.
Ortiz.
Mr. Wise said his employers were visiting from Sweden the
following day and told Messrs. Carney and Ortiz they would meet Asa
Caap, chief executive of OUR/Vodka. At the time, the company's
vodka was being distilled and sold locally in Berlin. It has since
rolled out to London, Amsterdam, Los Angeles and Detroit.
"I was told to recruit guys to open and run a distillery in New
York City and they'd get a piece of the business, but they needed
to be authentic New Yorkers and creative problem solvers who were
literally willing to carry 36 cases of vodka," said Mr. Wise.
Mr. Wise had a tough time locating operators for the new
distillery. At the outset, the project was so scrappy that Mr. Wise
was using a Gmail account, and his emails were being ignored. In
New York alone, 10 to 12 people failed to reply to him before he
found Messrs. Ortiz and Carney.
When the two entrepreneurs met with Mrs. Caap in 2013, there was
one final hurdle to be overcome. "I was nervous to tell them I
don't drink," said Mr. Ortiz, who adds, "They came right back with
'We love your honesty. That's so New York!'"
The pair went to work scouting locations with Mr. Wise in
January 2014, and closed the skate shop the following year.
Pernod-Ricard invested well over $2 million to open the
2,386-square-feet distillery/bar with a 2,697-square-foot basement
on 26th Street in Chelsea, according to Mr. Ortiz.
Pernod-Ricard has committed to covering operating expenses over
the next three years when the distillery is expected to begin
turning a profit. It expects to sell 3,000 9-liter cases in the
first year.
OUR/New York's 375-millileter bottles will be sold across New
York state in liquor stores, bars, and duty-free shops.
"It's going to be a challenge and we don't get any profits until
it's profitable, but it doesn't top out. As long as the distillery
makes money, we get a piece of net profit," says Mr. Carney, who
said he and Mr. Ortiz will also be paid a nominal salary.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 20, 2017 19:00 ET (23:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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