Our Story
our why is simple
Like the historical icons who inspire us, we prefer to challenge rules, norms, categories and restrictions. Our team is known to push limits and take on challenges when others won’t.
What we do
Like craft brewing, our distillery makes spirits/products based on a target flavor idea instead of a category.
We feel that makes for the best products because they are not constrained by the need to fit a particular category. It also gives us total freedom for creativity and results in a wonderful new pallet for bartenders and mixologists. This also results in spirits that may have never existed before and offers the consumer the chance to try something absolutely new. Imagine being Bob Ross with the restriction of only 8 colors of paint, and then your world opens up into an infinite spectrum of colorful expression.
Josephine is a perfect example of that completely new spirit. Not only is the flavor unique, but also complex and enigmatic. As the spirit opens, it changes flavor profile, and as the spirit ages, even in bottles, it changes character and deepens in complexity. Josephine is made from fruits and molasses and rested but not aged with toasted oak. This gives it a profile of a lovely brandy but also with spice and smoky notes found in a fine scotch, and then rounds out with earthy notes and a magnificent mouthfeel.
We also prefer to make batch-based products which will vary in flavor batch to batch due to idea improvements, and agriculture. Wine will vary year to year, why should spirits based on crops need to remain identical year to year? We embrace that and look forward to the flavor profiles of each batch and appreciate the ephemeral nature of a particularly good version. Therefore, we hand number each batch and proudly refer to each one like individual children.
Not only do we look to ingredients as a way to express creativity, we also look at the distillation process to create new expressions. For instance, a botanical basket is generally used for vapor infusing gin. We have taken that process and applied it to our ‘Lorenz’ which is mainly a cane-based spirit and infused it with cinnamon sticks and vanilla beans. The process of emulsifying those oils picks up a tremendously delicious flavor with no sugars. The flavors then lend the spirit to all sorts of pairings with other cocktail ingredients from summer to winter including hot cocktails such as a wassail or a coffee.
Led with grit, and a track record to prove it.
Our Team
Matt Eau Claire
CEO
Meet the man with an insatiable passion for great-tasting spirits and enough grit to take on something as bold as starting the first distillery in a highly conservative county.
Matt has spent 20+ years traveling the world in search of the most unique tastes and distilling techniques. This deep interest combined with 25 years of business experience gave him the idea to set out and do what he truly loves: creating the best-tasting premium liquors not just for himself, but for everyone in search of something defiantly different.
“We’re a distillery that colors outside the lines; our fearless innovation crafts incredible taste without being confined by standard categories.” –Matt Eau Claire
Stephanie Eau Claire
President / CMO
James Pyle
Logistics
Austin Heath
Head of Sales
Sales Representative
Damon Kirchmeier
CFO
Advisory Board
Adam Opalek
Craig Porter Rollins
Nathan Farnsworth
We Give Back With Every Bottle
We’ve always known we want to be more than just a company that distills liquor. We want to create an engaged community that fosters awareness for things larger than themselves. In honor of the historical figures who inspire our liquors, we’re giving back to organizations that we believe our icons would have supported.
