Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Anger.
Hi Sean, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I started homebrewing about 8 years ago and fell in love with how much flavor you can create in beer when you start with quality ingredients and a controlled process – we call this “grain-to-glass”. While grain-to-glass craft beer is fairly well-established in Texas, we saw an opportunity in distilled spirits.
Most distilled products on the market come from massive, centralized manufacturers, regardless of the brand on the label. Since startup and operating costs for a distillery are very high, there is a strong business case for new distilleries to procure already-made alcohol from these manufacturers and bottle it at their facility; however, our passion lies in developing unique flavors from our raw material – the grain – so we oversee the entire flavor development from mash to distillation in our own facility.
In competitive sectors like Vodka, Gin, and Whiskey this is a contrarian approach, but the end result speaks for itself. Once people try our spirits for the first time, they’re amazed by the flavors and balance.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No.
Early on, our biggest obstacle was finding a location suitable for our operation(s). With local jurisdictional requirements, federal and state-level permitting, as well as individual landlord preferences, there are a lot of constraints to balance out. It took us almost 2 years to find a location to call home.
Our lease started in April 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. Launching a brand in those economic conditions was challenging. The large liquor brands focused all of their efforts on retail chains like Specs and Total Wine since they didn’t have restaurants open to growing their sales. It made it difficult for a startup brand to obtain an audience.
Fortunately, we were able to find a partner to distribute our spirits into some of these chains and get a solid foundation to build off of.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My background is 100% in the manufacturing sector. I am a graduate of Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech; I went into manufacturing due to a love for seeing raw material get transformed into something of additional value. My career started in forgings and castings for military, aerospace, and heavy truck applications then transitioned to a quick stint in glass manufacturing for the beverage alcohol sector. After glass, I spent nearly 8 years in the energy industry focusing on infrastructure projects – it was during this time I taught myself how to homebrew.
I’m most proud of the diversity of my background in manufacturing, in general, and applying those skills to the distillery. We’re able to develop spirits that are competitive in price and of very high quality. I believe we’re the best value on the market.
I am most proud of the balance of flavor in our gins. Many of our customers never knew they liked gin until they tried ours. When developing a new gin recipe, we distill each botanical individually to understand its contribution to the combined botanical mix. This enables us to develop award-winning gins on our first attempt. Our London Dry won a Silver Medal at San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and our Meridian Gin received a 90 / 100 by Wine Enthusiast. Meridian is only the second Texas-made gin to obtain a 90 or higher by Wine Enthusiast.
In addition to our retail offerings, we have some distillery-only expressions available to visitors. Our two most popular are the Age Your Own Whiskey Kits and the Bourbon Barrel-aged Meridian. We made extra un-aged whiskey, so we bottled it and are offering it with a 2.0L white oak barrel for you to age at home. The Bourbon Barrel-aged Meridian is our floral-forward Meridian gin aged in an ex-Yellow Rose Outlaw Whiskey barrel for 2.5 months. The flavors are incredible!
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I grew up in a small country town outside of Pittsburgh. My best memories are riding my bike to and from the neighbor’s house and finding entertainment in nature. Whether it be sledding, making a lean-to, or throwing a baseball, outside is where the best memories are made!
Pricing:
- Texas Vodka – 27,99
- London Dry Gin – 31.99
- Meridian Gin – 31.99
- Age your own Whiskey Kits – 149.99
- Bourbon Barrel-aged Meridian – 37.99
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@foxandseeker.com
- Website: www.foxandseeker.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fox_and_seeker/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foxandseeker
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/foxandseeker
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1q-_XxByPbE0E_W1OLZhDw
