Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Diaz
Hi Michael, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I met Phil McDaniel in 2011 in St Augustine. Phil had identified an opportunity to renovate an old FPL ice plant and turn it into a Craft distillery where we could offer tours and make high-quality spirit from Florida agriculture. We filled our first barrel of bourbon in December, 2013, and opened to the public for tours in March, 2014. Since bourbon tales a number of years to mature in barrel, we started distilling and selling vodka, the gin. We added rum in Fall of 2015, and released our first bourbon in the fall of 2017. We received two awards for the restoration and repurposing of our historic building, and our business really helped accelerate economic development in our historic Lincolville neighborhood.
As we have evolved, we have migrated away from a pure focus on Florida agriculture and have simply focused on making the best spirits possible in Florida from the best available ingredients. Quite often, this means that we use agricultural products from many other regions across the US. In addition to our gift shop sales, we are well represented on the wholesale market, having our products sold in all the major retailers in Florida, as well as many of the independent retailers. We are also sold on the state of Georgia, and are looking to expand distribution further this year.
Operationally, Will Hensler, who was previously running our sister distillery City Gate Spirits since 2018, joined STADCO as our Chief Operating Officer in 2021. Will has brought enthusiasm, leadership, and direction to our operations and has been a huge driver in our success. Will has built and continues to develop a strong team and culture of excellence.
In addition to our Gift Shop and wholesale sales, we have been offering classes and paid tours in our distillery. We are authorized to teach and certify both the Certified Bourbon Steward program as well as the Executive Bourbon Steward program. These programs were developed and offered by Moonshine University in Louisville, Ky. St Augustine Distillery has now awarded more Certified Bourbon Steward Certificates than any other location outside of Kentucky. Our visitation experience has consistently been rated as one of the best distillery tours in the US. As we tell our team, we make liquor, but we sell experience.
We are also very proud about our community involvement. Community support has been a key component of our culture. We focus on three areas: support of our Historic Lincolnville Neighborhood, Music and the arts, and affordable housing. We have supported the Lincolnville Museum for years, we are a primary sponsor of the St Augustine Amphitheatre, and have built 7 habitat homes with Habitat St Johns. We try to make sure that we leave our community better than how we found it!
This year (2024) , we were extremely proud to have been named “Distillery of the Year” by the American Distilling Institute (“ADI”). The award was presented at ADI’s annual conference in Baltimore, MD.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We have had many challenges, priomarily through changing the laws as they relate to Craft Distilleries. We have made four substantial changes to the Florida laws to allow us to sell directly to consumers. First, to sell 2 bottles per person per year, next to sell 2 bottles per type (vodka, gin, bourbon, etc) per person per year, next to raise the limit to 6 per person per year, and finally unlimited sales to each consumer. We are also precluded form shipping our product directly to consumers. If we could ship directly top consumers (much like a Napa Valley winery does), we feel that our sales could increase significantly.
Finally, Florida has very restrictive laws around ownership of Craft distilleries. These ownership laws prevent us from taking investment from larger distilleries, which is a significant barrier to growth for us.
We’ve been impressed with St Augustine Distillery, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
St Augustine Distillery is a craft Distillery based in historic St Augustine, Florida. We make award-winning Vodka, Gin, Rum and Bourbon. We have made the first legal bourbon in Florida, and continue to make some of the finest bourbons available. We make our spirits from the best agricultural products we can source, distill them with a respected, professional team and continually revise and improve our production techniques, using both the art of our distillers and all of the scientific tools available to validate our techniques and our subjective findings. Our spirits are all aged in Florida’s hot, humid climate, and reflect that unique terroir. Our team is especially well-known for our extensive knowledge and use of barrel finishing, and we have produced a number of spectacular barrel finished bourbons, including Cognac, Apera Sherry, Curaçao, Port, Toasted Barrel, and our signature Old Fashioned Barrel finish, The Saint.
Our spirits are available at our gift shop, retailers across Florida and Georgia, and online. We also have a line of mixers that pair well with our spirits and are very popular.
We also produce a number of limited release spirits, so please keep your eye on us as these products are rolled out.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Most people are completely unaware that Bourbon can be made in the state of Florida. We not only produced the first legal bourbon in Florida after prohibition, but we are the most well-known and respected Florida bourbon, We are known as the “Spirit of Florida”.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.staugustinedistillery.com/
- Instagram: staugustinedistillery
- Facebook: St Augustine Distillery Company
- Twitter: @StAugDistillery
