As part of our ongoing "Getting to
Know Your Local Businesses" series, this week we sat down with Joseph
Breda, owner of Old Humble Distilling Company!
Tell us a bit about your business: What does your business offer and how long have you been around?
The
Old Humble Distilling Company offers a full lineup of delicious
whiskeys, cocktails, and entertainment. We were founded in 2012 and our
whiskeys regularly win awards at international spirits competitions as
well as whiskey festivals throughout Texas. Our Straight Whiskey,
Special Reserve, and Double Oak Straight Rye all can be found throughout
Houston and in finer stores around Texas. In January 2023 our Legendary
Boomtown
Bourbon
returned to the mix. The first batch we released to the public sold out
in 72 hours, but have no fear!! We’re making more!
How did you decide to get involved in this line of work? How did the business get started?
I
began the distillery quite literally because I was a whiskey
enthusiast. I was a home brewer way back in college and that hobby
eventually grew into wine making and, finally, distillation.
Ultimately, after running the distillery part time for several years
through several transitions, I took the distillery full time in October
2019.
Tell us a couple things you are proud of about your business. What are you known for? What separates you from the competition?
What
separates us from the competition is that my distillery is truly a
labor of love. Me, my wife, my kids, friends, and extended family all
participate in the operations of the distillery. We have built just
about everything in our facility from the ground up. Even as we continue
to grow, we’ll continue to focus on the important things and steadily
build the brand.
What is your favorite part of running this business?
There are several things I love about running my own business. The freedom to set my own hours and work on the
parts
of the business that are important are really important to me. It
allows me to spend time with my family and my community. But my absolute
favorite part of all this is actually creating something of value and
sharing it while building a community that can grow as we grow. Not
everybody gets to create an award-winning whiskey and invite people onto
your front porch to share that award winning whiskey literally every
week, but I’ve been able to do that. And then when they have that first
drink and you see the look on their face when it hits them – the smell,
the flavor, the profile of the drink – and they raise that eyebrow and
look over at their buddy and nod their head. That’s the tee shot that
plops down on the green or the walkoff homerun. It’s everything. It
really is.
Who is your target market or ideal customer/client?
If
you like whiskey, my whiskey is for you. If you are one of those people
who has been turned off by whiskey in the past because the only
whiskeys you’ve been introduced to are factory produced generic
industrial whiskey, then
you try Old Humble Distilling Company whiskey. It’s whiskey the way whiskey should taste.
Can you tell us something about yourself as the business owner? What is your background?
I
came to the distilling arts first as a whiskey enthusiast. All of my
whiskeys reflect my own interest and preference in whiskeys. That
preference was sparked when I was invited to a whiskey tasting in 2009.
Prior to that my impression of bourbon was that they all tasted mostly
the same and were not particularly inspired. Nonetheless, at this
whiskey tasting the different bottles offered were all from different
regions in the United States and they all tasted remarkably different
and delightful. In less than 3 years I had a business plan and deep into
the process of putting together my distillery. In college I was a home
brewer, so my understanding of how grains interact in the brewing
process informs my knowledge of the initial stages of the distilling
process. But when you boil through all the research, education, and
practice it all comes down to the simple fact that I like good whiskey
and I make whiskey that I like. That’s what led me to start a
distillery.
Are there any special promotions, annual sales, or special events that you'd like to mention?
On Friday nights from 5-9 pm we offer tastings, flights, cocktails, bottles for purchase and occasionally live music.
We
also offer a $1 refund on the next purchase of a bottle of whiskey when
you return your empty bottle of Old Humble whiskey and if you show us
that you’re a subscriber to our YouTube channel, AMD Facebook follower.
Check out our merchandise.
Is there any other information you'd like your potential customers/clients to know about your business?
Old
Humble Distilling Company makes the official whiskeys of campouts,
cookouts, good stories, and great friends. We are open to the public on
Friday nights. Come out and see what all the hype is about.
How do you see your business growing and improving over the next couple of years?
In
due time we will initiate a mysterious new initiative called “PHASE 4”.
When PHASE 4 is activated, you will receive further instruction through
your various electronic devices.
To learn more about Old Humble Distilling Company, check out their featured business page on
NewCaney.com
