Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Don Poffenroth, and I founded Dry Fly Distilling in 2007 in Spokane, WA. My background is corporate marketing and flyfishing. Dry Fly married those two things. Today I run our business from a financial and legal perspective, although I do try to get into production whenever I can. Dry Fly has always done what it says it does. 100% transparent. No BS, no fake stories. Just reality.

What led you to starting a distillery? What keeps you excited about it?

I had a choice in my corporate life to either move to Southern California, which lacks any respectable fly fishing opportunities, or stay in Spokane and make something happen. We quickly became engaged with our friends from Christian Carl, and the rest is history. I love the challenge of figuring out how to make this business work. Every day is different. I love hearing reactions to our products. I love innovating and collaborative efforts.

What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who wants to start a distillery?

Advice in starting a distillery today . . . do your homework, but don't expect you will learn it all online. Start very small or very big. A have a bunch on money. You will need it.

How do you continue to educate yourself as a distillery owner?

The industry and daily interactions with all of the pieces provides plenty of life instruction. As we grow and become more efficient, we are able to adapt to new technology and methods that doesn't exist on a small scale. And the market teaches us lessons daily. Some kind. Some not so much.

What is one company or service (besides Distillery Products) that your business cannot live without?

We have many vendors that help define what we do. They all are important, but none more than Wisota Farms. Our primary farm is 118 year old, homesteaded by the Engle Family. What they grow, we try not to screw up, and capture in a bottle.

If people want to connect with you, where should we point them?

Website - http://dryflydistilling.com/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/don-poffenroth-14b7053/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dry-Fly-Distilling/1931009243778075