Meet The Makers With Willie’s Distillery
At Shots Box, we pride ourselves from hand selecting over 200+ spirits in our store. We have traveled across the States to discover the most interesting spirits that are far from the major brands you see in stores. In our Meet The Makers Series we highlight the awesome backstory of the distillers behind the unique craft spirits. In today’s edition, we give you the backstory of Willie’s Distillery, Montana’s Premier spirit maker.
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Willie’s Distillery: Montana’s Premium Spirit Maker
With a simple goal in mind to create Spirits that embody the independent spirit of the American West, Willie’s Distillery was born. In 2010, founded by Willie and Robin Blazer, the distillery launched its operations with a goal to make honest spirits that supported the local economy by using local ingredients, and helped the local residents. This mindset has helped give Willie’s products the Regional flavor that can not be found anywhere else.
Meet the Makers:
Willie, originally from North Carolina, wears a lot of hats and has had a distinguished background. He is a veteran of the United States Armed Forces and U.S. Forest Service, serving as an Army Ranger, Special Forces Medic, Hotshot Wild-land Firefighter and Smoke-jumper. His partner Robin, has deep Montana roots and was raised on a grain farm in southwest Montana. Her experience has led her to acting as the President of Willie’s Distillery and the Montana Distiller’s Guild. Robin’s prominent positions echo Montana’s prohibition-era history of a female-driven spirits industry.
What makes Willie’s Unique?
One of the distinguishable tools that Willie’s uses is a copper pot still made by Bavarian Holstein Stills straight from Germany. They mill, mash, ferment and stills corn, barley and oats all on site.
Willie’s goal to help the locals is fulfilled through various ways. For one, their staff includes veterans of multiple branches of the United States Armed Forces acting in positions ranging from Production to Sales and Management. On the other hand, the use local ingredients that helps the local economy.
To this day, Willie’s produces, bottles, labels, corks and packs all of their spirits by hand.
Shots Box Favorites
It was tough to pick just one favorite, so we went with two. The Montana Honey Moonshine is a personal favorite of ours because of its unique flavor. The sweet taste of honey mixed perfectly well with the stinging taste of moonshine. This spirit is great on the rocks, but goes great on cocktails.
Our second favorite is the unique Huckleberry Sweet Cream Liqueur. Its deep purple color and creamy taste makes for a delicious liqueur enjoyed on the rocks. This liqueur also doubles for a topping on ice cream.
Popular Willie’s Products Available at Shots Box:
Some of Willie’s most popular items include:
- Huckleberry Liqueur
- Big Horn Bourbon
- Honey Moonshine
- Wild Choke Cherry
- Montana Moonshine
- Snowcrest Vodka
- Coffee Cream Liqueur
Checkout some of their unique spirits here: Willie’s Products
