Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Williams.
Hi Ben, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Houston. I have a history of entrepreneurs in my family — dating back to my great-grandmother, Lucille B. Smith — and developed an affinity for venture management at an early age. I graduated from Howard University in Washington D.C. and after that ran my own live events promotion company, which oversaw the national promotion for several Grammy award-winning artists. After moving back to Houston, I put my business and fiscal strengths to use in the private education sector, serving as Business Development + Financial Director at The Imani School — a private elementary and middle school in Southwest Houston which my mother, Patricia Williams, founded in 1988. In 2012, I partnered with my brother Chef Chris Williams to open Lucille’s restaurant in a 1920s Mission-style home on a quiet, tree-lined street in the Museum District. The restaurant serves as a tribute to the culinary tradition begun by our great-grandmother, Lucille B. Smith, who was an educator, culinary innovator and successful entrepreneur. My foray into the hospitality sector eventually sparked an interest in the world of spirits. I started experimenting with distilling vodka as a hobby with my friend Wendell Robbins III, who is now my partner. Seven years later, in 2019, we launched Highway Vodka. I’m also a founding board member of the non-profit Lucille’s 1913. Founded by my brother Chris, it is a conscious community collective that combines food philanthropy and development to further nourish Houston’s most vulnerable communities. To date, Lucille’s 1913 has donated more than 180,000 meals to Houstonians in need during COVID-19. We donate $1 from every bottle of Highway Vodka sold to support 1913’s mission.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We have most definitely had some obstacles. The biggest obstacle, number one, was permitting. It took two-and-a-half years to be granted the opportunity from the federal government to participate in the spirits industry. Number two, distribution, finding someone that would believe in your product and get behind you was its own challenge. Number three, trying to figure out how to carve out a niche for yourself in a very crowded, well-monetized landscape. There’s some very David & Goliath-type stuff that you face when you enter into the spirits industry.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Highway Vodka is the first hemp vodka in Texas. Our mash bill consists of a unique strain of hemp, locally sourced corn and water from an artesian aquifer. The vodka is distilled 6x, keeping only the hearts of the run to preserve the nuance of the grain and oils from the hemp and corn – “All Hearts, No Tails”, as we like to say. The hemp acts as a super fuel to the yeast performing the conversion from sugars to alcohol, forming a thick layer of hemp oil at the top of the fermenter. This yields a smoother product that has a noticeably different viscosity and mouth feel than other vodkas. The use of hemp helps to provide a nuanced, balanced, unique spirit with a character unlike any other in the world. By using the plant from the very beginning of the distilling process in the grain bill, the plant provides myriad benefits that change throughout the process — mashing, fermenting, distilling and filtering — as the form of the plant changes. We have been fortunate to experience robust expansion, with our homegrown Houston-based distillery now distributing throughout the state of Texas and soon into Georgia, California, Florida, New Jersey and beyond. We have experienced 500 percent growth year-over-year. Silver Eagle, our Houston-based distributor, has helped us to garner 500-plus placements in Houston at Total Wine, Spec’s, retailers, bars and restaurants. We also are part of the Nearest & Jack Advancement Initiative, a collaboration between Jack Daniel’s and the Nearest Green Distillery. The program is designed to promote diversity and advance African-American leadership in the American spirits industry.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Finding our relationship with Silver Eagle was really kind of luck, I guess you could say. I literally was calling a friend to rant and he said, ‘Let me call my friend to see if I know any other distributors’, and that friend turned out to be Tom Monaghue VP of Silver Eagle. Tom said they were looking to get into spirits, and he offered to take a look at it. We did our blind taste test challenges with them and won unanimously, and we became the very first spirit that they ever distributed.
Pricing:
- You can pick up a 750 mL bottle for $20 at Total Wine, Spec’s, Ralston and tons of independent stores.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@highwayvodka.com
- Website: https://www.highwayvodka.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/highwayvodka/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HighwayVodkaTX/
Image Credits
Emily Jaschke, Ayaan Ahsan, Ahsan’s Media House
