At simply 28 years outdated, Iowa’s Gene Nassif wears lots of hats. By day, he’s a practising lawyer specializing in household regulation. By night time — and on the weekends and no matter different spare time he can muster — Nassif is co-owner of Cat’s Eye, a Bettendorf-based micro distillery extra extensively recognized for its “Obtainium” model sourced merchandise.
With Obtainium, Nassif has leveraged social media, YouTube, and phrase of mouth to construct a following across the model’s sourced Polish rye, Canadian whisky, gentle whiskey, Armagnac, and extra. At sure factors, a few of Obtainium’s merchandise have boasted age statements exceeding Nassif’s personal age.
With Obtainium gross sales rising in double-digit percentages 12 months over 12 months, Nassif and Cat’s Eye co-owner John Baker have sights set on broadening Obtainium’s strains into worldwide spirits from across the globe. Cat’s Eye additionally bottles choose blended merchandise beneath the Nassif Household Reserve label.
Nassif — a frequent visitor on whiskey-focused YouTube channels — lately sat down with Drinkhacker to debate beginning off within the sourced market and the regulatory challenges concerned with sourcing overseas.
Be aware: This interview has been flippantly edited for readability.
Drinkhacker: How did you initially develop a ardour for spirits?
Gene Nassif: The place I went to school, Luther Faculty, is subsequent to Toppling Goliath breweries. So top-of-the-line breweries within the nation was a block away, and I obtained to style some actually nice beers. After which the craft facet of craft beer was the craft facet of whiskey, and the remainder is historical past.
Drinkhacker: You reside a twin life: You’re a practising lawyer and also you’re additionally a distillery proprietor and energetic in sourcing spirits.
Nassif: That’s appropriate. Two full-time jobs. The story goes that I used to be in regulation faculty in a whiskey group regionally in Iowa. We have been speaking concerning the retailer choose market earlier than the shop choose market skyrocketed. And what I noticed was a possibility. This was 2016, however the entire concept of retailer picks wasn’t enormous. And in addition the sourced market, as we all know it right now, was not enormous. You had some, however folks going past the MGP or at the moment, Heaven Hill or Barton, and sourcing spirits from world wide.
Me being into Scotch at the moment, I assumed, “Why can’t I’ve this impartial bottler idea utilized to American spirits?” Full transparency, you see on the label what you’re getting. I obtained related to John [Baker], my accomplice, who on the time was operating a distillery in Iowa, creating his personal product. We partnered to create this model new model — Obtainium — which turns into 99% of the gross sales. And now we’re co-owners.
Drinkhacker: Are you completely dealing with the sourced merchandise, or are you concerned with any of the in-house distilled product?
Nassif: Our present setup isn’t constructed to maintain scaling. So until we spend one other $250,000, we may by no means produce sufficient product to even get past the state of Iowa. So I’m solely the sourcing, mixing, and advertising facet of the Obtainium model. The product that we distill ourselves, whereas we care about it fairly a bit, simply may by no means get to that time until we spent an enormous sum of money on bettering our gear.
Drinkhacker: Let’s discuss a number of the early sourced merchandise that you simply have been releasing. What was your first sourced product, and what was the launch technique for that?
Nassif: So it took lots of chilly calls to even get someone who was keen to promote us barrels. I didn’t know the market, I didn’t know that this market historically was nearly shrouded in secrecy. No person wished to say the place they obtained the stuff from. No person wished to reveal brokers. It was truly Jeff Mattingly of Mattingly & Sons down in Kentucky who was the primary individual to actually assist me out. A well-known quote from him that I keep in mind to at the present time is, “Us little guys stick collectively.” And that was completely true. He related me with a few of my first brokers, and I tasted by way of a bunch of barrels.
I tasted by way of a bunch of Dickel at the moment, outdated Dickel, I’m personally an enormous fan and I actually wished to bottle it, however the concept caught about how many individuals actually like Dickel? There’s like 10% of all whiskey drinkers who like Dickel. So I tasted by way of, after which I get to this gentle whiskey and I’m going, “No person’s heard of these items earlier than.” I actually favored the historical past that was neglected. It’s primarily a single grain akin to scotch used for mixing. And it’s actually good when it’s outdated, by itself, interval. So I loved it. It was a brand new spirit. I may create my very own class or convey again this historic class. And that’s what I did.
Drinkhacker: What are a number of the different releases that you simply’re doing with some regularity?
Nassif: After gentle whiskey, we got here into some Polish rye whiskey. It was truly distilled in Poland, then we imported it right here and bottled it, which was completely superb. We do MGP five- and six-year rye whiskey, the 95/5 recipe, which can also be a staple. We do Canadian whiskeys. I purchased a bunch of whiskeys from the Palliser Distillery, which is also referred to as Black Velvet.
When Heaven Hill bought them, lots of the outdated whiskey inventory stayed. The reason being that Black Velvet in America is a backside shelf model. In Canada, they really have extra premium strains they usually discontinued the premium strains. So essentially the most premium, highest-age product, we ended up shopping for lots of. It’s a 26 12 months outdated Canadian corn whiskey, and a 27 12 months outdated blended Canadian whiskey. Moreover we’ve completed Armagnac. I imported Armagnac from France, blended it, which was superb. I’ve obtained a 21 12 months outdated Canadian rye whiskey popping out, actually simply sourcing a number of the coolest, most attention-grabbing merchandise from in all places.
Drinkhacker: What’s one thing you haven’t bottled that you simply’d be excited to sort out within the coming years?
Nassif: Scotch is the final word hurdle due to regulation. Scotch doesn’t permit for bottling outdoors of Scotland, which signifies that I’ve to accomplice with bottlers there after which primarily discover ways to import Scotch. So I did in all probability the final step first and purchased Scotch barrels earlier than understanding all of this. Down the road, a blended Scotch too, with older, single grain and single malts.
Drinkhacker: What’s your advertising technique?
Nassif: What we did in a different way I feel has modified how craft distillers market themselves, and I feel not lots of model folks or entrepreneurs have been keen to interact with whiskey YouTube and social media. In different phrases, you may need an advert, proper? You may pay someone or ship them the little pattern bottles together with a $50 invoice or no matter else you wish to do and say, “Hey, please assessment my product.” However nearly no one up till that time of time wished to go on Whiskey-Tube and discuss concerning the product. You didn’t have lots of people that wished to interact with these whiskey Tubers. And we’re not simply speaking the massive deal folks, the Fred Minnicks of the world. I’m speaking about these those that at the moment have been possibly 10,000 subs on YouTube or 3,000 on Instagram, or haven’t actually skyrocketed.
I actually wished to interact with these folks as a result of I knew even simply making an attempt a bottle with them was going to get extra eyes than an commercial on YouTube, particularly, eyes of those that have been going to purchase my product. So I began partaking with them, began speaking with them, began getting suggestions from them. And I used to be joyful to do it. I actually loved the group.
Drinkhacker: Is most of your choose curiosity inbound now? Or are you approaching folks that you simply particularly wish to do picks with?
Nassif: Most of it now’s folks reaching out to us. We’ve obtained a backlog at this level, given how giant we’ve grown. When there are specific teams and sure those that I care about who supported me once I was no one, completely. I attain out to them and say, “Hey, I obtained this actually cool stuff coming. I’m going to supply it to everyone else, however I wanna just be sure you have your alternative.”
Drinkhacker: I do know you’re a numbers man. What are you able to inform us concerning the progress of the model?
Nassif: I share all the pieces. In reality, I’ve made different distillers uncomfortable throughout reside streams, once I discuss concerning the worth of barrels and such.
Drinkhacker: In 2022, what number of barrels of sourced product are you going to maneuver?
Nassif: I feel we’re in all probability on monitor for one more 250 to 300 barrels. On contract now and owned we’re at round 2,000 barrels, I feel possibly 2,100 at this level. And that’s possession, after which we’ve got contracts to buy. So it’s mainly an choice that you simply simply must train.
Drinkhacker: How can folks keep on high of your new releases?
Nassif: More often than not, Instagram or Fb. Let’s say someone goes to get a retailer choose from us. The very first thing that I inform the retailers are submit on social media, ship me the hyperlink and also you’ll see it on our Fb, you’ll see it on my Instagram. I attempt my hardest to do this. That being stated, even lots of these liquor retailer house owners nonetheless should not getting behind social media advertising of their retailer picks. And so you find yourself having third events, like someone that got here in and purchased it which are posting the photographs.
Drinkhacker: The rest you’d like so as to add?
Nassif: Take pleasure in consuming, get pleasure from exploring completely different spirits from world wide. Take pleasure in making a cocktail with it, too. I inform those that it’s nice to discover, and don’t be restricted by considering you need to drink it neat and in a glass with out ice. I imply, simply get pleasure from!
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