An Interview With the Tekes Behind Boardroom Spirits Distillery
Over the past 18 months, Fraters Vlad and Marat Mamedov (Alpha-Tau, Drexel), along with Marat’s wife, Zsuzsa, have been combining an unbelievable amount of science and spirit to perfect the art of distillery. Ahead of the release of their first product, we emailed the trio a list of questions about their startup, Boardroom Spirits, and the roller coaster ride of starting a distillery from the ground up. Needless to say, their answers did not disappoint.
TKE: How did the idea of Boardroom Spirits originate?
Boardroom Spirits: The three of us came from corporate backgrounds, having worked in top-tier management consulting firms for years. We loved our jobs, the travel, and finding solutions for various company challenges. However, the three of us have always had a passion for fine spirits and food.
We have an appreciation for exceptional products and felt that this was the one element missing from our careers – the pride of creating something and sharing it others. So we brainstormed ideas of what to do. And after an extensive vetting process, we landed on pursuing the dream of opening our own distillery.
How would you describe the journey thus far?
We can throw every emotion in the English language out there for this one! In all seriousness, it has been both challenging (in a good way) and rewarding. We went through new experiences with designing and revitalizing our current building to transform it into the distillery. That was a long project, but now that we have the final product in place, we are proud to call it our home. We look forward to sharing our journey and the complete distillery experience with our visitors, patrons and supporters.
What’s been the most difficult part of the startup?
The most difficult part of any startup is the unknown of how people will respond to your product. There are so many different pallets and opinions of what a spirit should be, how it should taste, how to drink it, etc. To get past this, we partnered with a top notch Master Distiller – Attila Kovacs. Attila has a PhD in Fermentation & Distillation studies, and we are consistently amazed by his vast knowledge and how to run a controlled fermentation and distillation site.
Okay, what’s with the bear and crown for a logo?
We are all animal lovers and wanted to have an animal mascot tied to the brand from the start. To us, a boardroom is any place where business happens, it doesn’t necessarily mean a literal boardroom. In different trades, a boardroom may be the back of a foreman’s pickup truck at a construction site, the locker room of a sport club, a theatre for artists, etc. We didn’t want to be literal with the logo, but rather symbolic. After thinking through different options, we eventually landed on the Boardroom Bear.
Describe the balance of art and science.
The artistic element of distilling is the ability to create new and unique spirits that introduce consumers to different aromas and tastes. While creativity is a great start, you need to have a defined protocol and process of how to execute the spirit that you are trying to design. That’s where the science comes in of selecting the right raw ingredients and the right yeast strains. Then it’s the practice of executing a proper and controlled fermentation that allows the yeast to perform its magic. Then it’s distilling and making the right cuts and determining how you want to age your spirit.
Frater Bryan Keller, a Teke from the Alpha-Tau chapter at Drexel, shared your work with the Offices of the Grand Chapter. What does that say about the Fraternity and its lifelong connections?
Our best friends are Alpha-Tau Fraters and we have maintained that strong bond years after college. The bond goes beyond just college and has evolved into deeper friendships that are different as you get older. We have been to each other’s weddings, talked about expanding careers and are watching our kids grow up. It truly is a lifelong bond that is established beyond the comradery of college.
For example, we have worked with our close friends and Alpha-Tau members along the way to help get the business started: Our lawyer is Frater Adam Green from Green, Schafle & Gibbs, LLC; our electrical/mechanical/plumbing/engineering contractor is Frater Mario Cimini at S&S Electrical (Vlad’s little brother and Marat’s big brother); and many friends have contributed to our Kickstarter campaign and spread the word about what we have in store!
Explain your current Kickstarter campaign.
The campaign is a part of our marketing to announce the upcoming opening of the distillery and to raise awareness. We’ve completed the majority of the work on our exceptional operation and felt that running a Kickstarter campaign would be a great way of getting people in the local community and beyond involved. We have really cool rewards and unique experience that only a distillery can offer and felt that running a Kickstarter was the best way to get people engaged in funding our tasting room and lab. Giving our future customers a sense of ownership and having played a part in building the distillery.
What’s your end goal for Boardroom Spirits?
World domination! Joking of course. Our goal is to introduce our consumers to new, unique, aromatic, and flavorful spirits while also perfecting the classics. We want to innovate and push the boundaries of what spirits are and can be. We want to keep to the reason we got into the business from the beginning, which is creating artisanal product for consumers to enjoy. We plan to give our consumers an awesome experience when they come visit and hope they keep coming back for years to come.
Learn more about Boardroom Spirits at Boardroomspirits.com and visit their Kickstarter page here.
For more information, please contact:
Daniel Klopfenstein
Communications Specialist
317.872.6533
DKlopfenstein@tke.org