Lost Ark Distilling Company is a small artisan distillery founded on one principle—passion. When founders Brad Blackwell and Andy Debenham started a simple conversation about finding something greater and more meaningful in life, it quickly developed into a realistic dream that had to be pursued. They began working together, growing their business from the seeds of their passion.
Brad & Andy both shared a love for the hand-crafted. They knew immediately distilled spirits were the perfect product, so they founded Lost Ark Distilling, a company deriving its name from the story of the first Maryland settlers back in the 17th century. As the story goes, these settlers landed without much to work with and no idea what the new land would offer them. Their creativity, hard work, and dedication to creating something led to not only their survival but also their ability to thrive. Brad & Andy are committed to bringing that spirit of hard work and creativity into every unique spirit they produce.
Today, Lost Ark embodies the spirit of its home state, Maryland. Every bottle is hand made in Howard County, and nearly every ingredient is hand-picked from across the state. Each line of ultra-premium spirits is inspired from a specific piece of Maryland history, and that history can be experienced within every pour. Never settling for anything less than what they imagined in their first conversation, Brad & Andy own their craft every day to ensure Lost Ark represents the spirit of Maryland’s past, present and future. We spoke to the Co-Founder Brad Blackwell.
Brad, I would like to kick off by asking what the backstory is to setting up the Lost Ark Distillery, how you came to be involved and what drew you to the project?
BB: I grew up in the south, in Alabama, and did a lot of construction and manual labor type jobs during and after high school. The hours were long, the work was hard, and I knew there had to be something bigger out there for me. I joined the Army to pursue a better education. The army sent me to school to learn electronics, engineering, and computers. After my time in service was over, I continued in the same career path. Over the course of 14 years of working behind a computer desk, I went through hobby after hobby always looking for something to make or create.
The one hobby that I always enjoyed the most was homebrewing. I met my business partner, Andy, while working together in our day jobs. We soon figured out that we shared the same passions about whiskey and homebrewing. Many conversation surfaced during long days at work about taking our skills to the next level and branching out on our own. One thing lead to another and before we knew it, we were in the middle of planning how we were going to build our distillery.
In conclusion, it all goes back to the beginning of the story, where I unknowingly developed a passion for building and creating with my hands. I didn’t appreciate it when I was young, but something happened along the way that ignited a passion to get back to that. Building a distillery seemed to be the perfect solution for chasing a passion for whiskey and spirits and the “need” for making and creating and being a craftsman.
What have been the main challenges involved in setting up a new distillery?
BB: I think our primary challenge was just getting open. There are a lot of struggles and hurdles to overcome in an industry that is fairly young and not very well known in local municipalities. It took a lot of time to find the location, talk to the right people who are decision makers, educate them on what a distillery is, and then ultimately get permission to operate. This scenario occurred in all phases of the startup process from licenses and permits to the contractors and workers who helped us put the distillery together. Now that we’re open, those challenges continue to evolve as we learn the ins and outs of the business and become better businessmen and distillers.
What has been the part you’ve enjoyed most?
BB: This is the easiest question, because what I love the most is exactly what drove us into this to begin with. I love starting with a raw product and creating something completely new with it. It’s really that simple. It’s all about the process. The fact that I can study and learn something with such a high degree of scrutiny that every tiny detail in that process is labored over to create a very specific final product really drives me. In addition, the customer reaction has also been a huge enjoyment. I never expected customer feedback to create so much excitement and enthusiasm in myself to continue to be better and better.
What exactly does your job entail?
BB: There are just two of us, myself and my partner, Andy. This all started as a very modest idea and quickly grew into something so much bigger than we ever thought it would. Our jobs entail, honestly, more than we ever expected. Running a distillery is a very labor intensive process. We did all of the process design, product ideas and formulations, and designing of our own custom equipment. In the day to day, we’re the distillers, sales people, accountants, marketing and advertising team, as well as our own distributor. We’re very fortunate to also have our wives and family members help out in the tasting room and for events and tastings as well.
What whiskey expressions do you currently produce?
BB: After only being open for about 2 months, we’re currently working on our first whiskey release, a Corn Whiskey. Starting with a Corn Whiskey was a very obvious launching point for us, but not for the reasons you would traditionally expect. Rather than seeing it as a young whiskey that was “easy”, we wanted to find ways to make it better and showcase how great a local young whiskey could be. Traditionally, a Corn Whiskey is considered a “moonshine” or “corn liquor”, both with a slight negative connotation.
We decided to take our Corn Whiskey and place it in uncharred oak barrels for a minimum of 6-8 weeks. This does a few things- it allows the spirit to rest, oxidize, and grow in complexity. At bottling, we should have a light straw colored spirit, with light oakiness, sweetness from the corn, and a softer more rounded finish due to the wheated mashbill and time in the barrel. In addition, we are using locally grown grains to make our Corn Whiskey. Each batch is made with corn and wheat grown on a local farm just about 15 mins from the distillery.
This was extremely important to us, because we wanted to create a whiskey that tasted like “home”. It was important to use ingredients that were easily sourced nearby.
In addition, our Corn Whiskey is named “1634”, for the year the first settlers arrived in Maryland. Only the smartest and hardest working individuals were chosen to come and colonize Maryland, and their survival hinged on their ability to build and create with their bare hands. Our 1634 whiskey can be considered a “working” whiskey that embraces the mentality of those hard working first settlers.
That’s very interesting Brad. Do you think that your product is distinctive? If so, what makes it distinctive from other whiskies on the market?
BB: Our product is certainly very distinct. Distilling itself has a very scientific based theory. At Lost Ark, we often use the phrase “the science of distillation is quite easy to understand; the art is much more complex”. Everything we do in the distillery is very deliberate. We use corn from a local farm and mill it fresh on-site because it makes our whiskey different from any other whiskey. Also, the way our still is set up, the temperatures we ferment at, the way we make cuts off of the still, and the temperatures in which our barrels rest all play a part in making our product unique from anyone else’s.
Walk us through the distillation process. From grain to glass? Is there a flavor profile you’re looking for before bottling the whiskey?
BB: At Lost Ark, we do every step of the whiskey making process in-house. We start with grains that are delivered in grain bags from a local farmer. From there, we measure out the proper amounts for a batch and run the grain through our hammermill in the milling room. A flex auger carries the milled grain over to the mash tun for us. We go through four mashes of about 250 gallons each, for a total of 1,000 gallons. We then cool the distillers beer, and ferment in two 2,000 liter open top fermentation tanks. Once fermentation is complete, we do four stripping runs through our hybrid still in pot-still mode. Once all of the low-wines from the four strips are collected, we then re-distill the low-wines. This time, we change our still to operate through a column with four bubble plates. The distillation is low and slow with very deliberate cuts that chase our very specific aroma and taste profiles.
What’s the best thing about working at Lost Ark Distilling?
BB: There are so many positives that this company has already created in only a few short weeks. One of our biggest goals is to be an asset to our community. The distillery wouldn’t be possible without the support of everyone around us, and now we have the opportunity to give back. Lost Ark creates a vehicle for us to do that which would otherwise be impossible.
What 3 whiskies do you love and why?
BB: This is probably one of the toughest questions than anyone ever asks me. My passion for whiskey has grown for many reasons, and one of those is creativity and passion for excellence in our industry. I’ve always enjoyed the Buffalo Trace brands and I’m currently really hooked on a Colonel EH Taylor Single Barrel Bourbon. It carries a beautiful flavor profile and mouthfeel that you can only get out of a single barrel expression.
However, I do not keep a lot of large commercial whiskeys on my home bar. Due to so many new products being introduced into the market by small craft producers and so many of these young distillers creating such unique expressions, my honest favorite whiskey right now is the ones I haven’t tried yet. I’m a sucker for trying everything that is new. The idea of sitting down and dissecting a new whiskey, a spirit crafted by another distiller, is always exciting. Whenever I get a new bottle, I can’t get home and get the cork out fast enough! The best is always yet to come, in my opinion.
Describe your whiskey in 3 words:
BB: New. Local. Distinct.
What is in the pipeline for 2017 that we should look out for?
BB: 2017 will be a year of high production rates and hard work. It’s our goal this year to put away barrels of Bourbon and a Maryland Style Rye Whiskey (It’s coming back, baby!). We’re also spending a lot of time honing our rum formulation. The rum category is very broad, with a more relaxed set of restrictions on how we can make it, and we’re having a blast creating something very unique and pleasing. 2017 will undoubtedly be an awesome year for experimentation, creativity, and growth.
What are your hopes for the distillery 5 years from now?
BB: Any good businessman would always recommend having a 5 year plan- and we do. However, if there’s one thing I have learned so far, is that this process continues to humble me and teach me so much. It would irresponsible to not have a 5 year plan, however, it would be naive to think that the next 5 years will play out exactly like we think they will on paper. We’ll continue to work hard, create the best spirits we possibly can, and ensure that we’re a customer focused company that plays a huge role in the community. Wherever we land in 5 years, it’ll be directly influenced by growing our company one happy customer at a time.
Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
BB: Thank you. No, really, thank you a thousand times over. If you read this far, it shows a true passion and interest in what we do as a distillery. It’s the people like you that make this all worth it. Cheers to you (the reader), the craft, and to good whiskey!
For more information on the distillery visit the links below:
website: http://www.lostarkdistilling.com
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lostarkdistilling/
