mainLogo

Bartender Spirits Awards

  • Enter Now
  • My Account

Bartenders

Michael Kuryla on the birth of Black Whiskey

Photo for: Michael Kuryla on the birth of Black Whiskey

14/12/2021 Michael Kuryla from Don Michael Distillery talks about the inspiration behind award-winning Black Whiskey.

Rising from Peru and ranking #7 on the Top 100 On-Premise Spirits list, Don Michael Distillery’s Black Whiskey shone amongst many other spirits at the USA Spirits Ratings and Bartender Spirits Awards 2021. 

“I started out by fabricating stills for myself and for others.  I even built a distillery for a client in the jungle of Peru.  In the end, my wife and I came up with the idea to use Andean Corn to make a bourbon-style whiskey. We shut down our construction company and dedicated ourselves full-time to working on the recipe. Five years later Black Whiskey is world-renowned,” says Michael Kuryla, Owner of Don Michael Distillery. 

Michael Kuryla, The owner of Don Michael Distillery

What was the inspiration behind the brand?

The inspiration was "Andean Whiskey," the whole idea of using Andean corn to make a bourbon style whiskey.  Interestingly enough there are about 53 varieties of corn that originate in Peru, 60+ from Mexico, and only 12 from North America.  

These types of corn that are only grown in the Andes Mountains are very distinct and result in a special kind of whiskey.  With that in mind, the brand just naturally carried over to Andean Cream and Andean Vodka as well.

According to you, what makes a great spirit?

That's easy....one that I like to drink.  I think people get hung up on price, brand, and social influences, and drink stuff they think they should.  I drink what I like.  I modeled the mash bill of our whiskey after wheat-bourbons in the US because that is my preference.  

Our whiskey is 60% corn, 30% malted wheat, and 10% malted barley.  Let me finish off by saying don't cheat. We don't add any fake flavors or color, everything we do is 100% by the book and done right.

What does your typical day look like?

LOL, I wake up at 5 AM.....my wife wants to kill me. 5:30 AM I work out with my wife, she still wants to kill me.

Things get better after that.  We usually make it to the distillery early and stay late. My job has shifted from managing production and distilling to managing clients, customers, and expanding markets. I miss the days of just being able to make whiskey.

How often are you firing up the stills and how long does a batch take?

We have 5 stills. Our main 6000 liters still is working full-time, day and night. Depending on the availability of corn, we usually cook six 10,000 liter batches a month. Our other stills are now being used for gin, brandy, and some new products we have in the works.

[[relatedPurchasesItems-31]]

What goes into developing a product? 

A lot of hard work. Testing, tasting, and really making sure you have something special.  Every one of our products is great.  I'm not just saying that.  Our sales and market penetration speak for themselves.  We will NEVER release a mediocre product just to make money.  We do everything to the best of our ability. Yes, it costs a bit more, but in the end, it's a reflection of who we are and our products are amazing.

Are you using any new technology?

As it turns out, Black Corn is different and distinct from other corn, we have tried regular corn and the end product is nowhere near as good.  On top of the corn, we have developed a unique bacteria profile that we add to the end of the fermentation which gives our whiskey an amazingly special flavor and aroma.  But, what else do we do differently?

Are you familiar with Lost Spirits or Cleveland Whiskey and accelerated aging techniques? What we have done is incorporate information from a number of different patents, and another year of testing to create our own "reactor",  that in combination with regular barrel aging turns our whiskey into something truly unique. I'm not just saying that. We run the before and after through a GC machine to compare levels of various indicators, furfural for example, and our 3-4-year-old whiskey is comparable to a 12-year-old whiskey.  

Sounds cool, but in the end, what really matters is whether or not your target market loves your whiskey. I would say so, we have won more medals than I can count, including two triple golds, a double gold, and a bunch more.

Tell us a funny story or a memory that always makes you smile.

Starting out was not easy.  One thing is cooking 50-liter batches and stepping it up to 300L batches but when you move on to 10,000-liter batches it's a whole different ball game.  I remember plenty of mistakes we made where thousands of liters of mash ended up covering half the distillery floor, fermenters overflowing like crazy, experiments that just didn't work outright.  Fortunately, we figured everything out and production is completely streamlined.

What excites you the most about your brand?

It's awesome. More than that, we are working with the Peruvian Government to register Andean Whiskey as a new type of whiskey recognized worldwide.  The same way one refers to Canadian Whiskey or Japanese Whiskey, Andean Whiskey will be something people are looking out for!  On top of that, the Andean Black Corn we use really is something special, no one in the world is making a whiskey like ours.

Are you working on something new right now?

Always! We will be rolling out some single-barrel versions next year.  We also have a bottle already designed for a Honey Whiskey.

A glimpse of the Don Michael Andean Distillery

How do you work with your distributors to make sure they have everything they need?

I am constantly in touch with them.  We work on incentive programs, multimedia support, social media promotions, and of course ordering and logistics to be sure they never run out of product.  

In addition, we as owners, myself and my partners, make the effort to do tastings and events to help promote the product.  Currently, we have flyers, sales sheets, table toppers, shirts, and a bunch of other stuff to help them help us.

Does social media play a huge role in your marketing?

Huge, social media is the advertising of today.  We have tried radio, TV, billboards but there is nothing like social media.  We have a company account with FB/IG and are posting at least 5 times a week on two different accounts.

Black Whiskey Peru & Black Whiskey TX: this is coupled with paid advertising campaigns where we target certain demographics and specific stores throughout the country.

What have been the biggest challenges and achievements of your story so far?

The biggest challenge has been staying strong for three-plus years waiting on the whiskey to age to perfection. Years of hard work, cooking, fermenting, distilling, and filling hundreds and hundreds of barrels.  

We finally had our first batch bottled and ready as money was running out, and sales were fantastic, then covid hit. It was rough.  We managed, and in April this year, we sent our first container to the USA.  Then in June, our second container went to Taiwan.  We are now preparing a third container for the US and another shipment to Germany.

What has been your biggest challenge in terms of getting your spirits to the retail shelves?

The biggest challenge is how you are going to get customers to buy your product once it gets placement.

I always talk about three key points, the first being presentation.  Bottle, label, closure, what does the liquid in the bottle look like, is it an appealing color? is it perfectly clear? Everything that a consumer wants to see even if they don't really realize it.  

The next thing is price. Unfortunately pricing positions your product.  In our case, our target pricing is between $50-60. This price point gives an unspoken implication of quality without being priced out of a new buyer’s typical price range.  

Finally, the product itself. Once you have been impactful enough to present your product and a consumer buys a bottle, the product itself must be EXCELLENT.

How did you solve these challenges?

A lot of hard work and sleepless nights....and a lot of whiskey.

Your brand has won many medals. Do you think competitions help a product move?

Definitely. One thing that Michael Lowry, the national buyer for Total Wine told me a couple of years ago was "Win a few medals and we will consider taking you on."  We have won a whole bunch of medals, been featured in a ton of articles and TV broadcasts, and even made it to the top ten in TWO top 100 lists in the USA. 

Have you seen any traction come in after announcing your win at competitions?

Yes, after winning a number of medals and participating as one of the six finalists in the Brand Battle competition, we have had a number of people reach out, and thanks to Ryan Moses of Best Brands in TN we are expanding sales to a new state.  

These competitions and references have helped us in the international market as well. We recently shipped an entire container of 99 bottles to Taiwan. Thanks to Kynan Larson of Eudemon Brands in Canada, we are also about to be available in Alberta.

What's one piece of advice you'd give to other distilleries?

Don't cut corners, get certified. We are BPM certified, which is easy and HACCP certified which is a really big deal.  There are only a couple of distilleries in South America that are HACCP certified.  We will be working on ISO 9001 next.

Is merchandising important? How do you make the most of it?

It’s cool, I don't think you can do without it. It really makes a huge difference in the end; probably not in terms of point-of-sale success.  We will continue to do hats (made in the USA) coasters and apparel.  I think these things work better as support material for us as owners and team members rather than sales incentives.

Do you personally work with any bars and restaurants to increase sales?

Yes, mostly the famous restaurants here in Peru.  We are in all the top locations in Lima and in international restaurants such as Osaka, La Mar, Llama Inn.  These places don't really sell huge amounts but they do serve as a great place to present our products and get worldwide exposure.

How do you work towards increasing sales?

I do 100 different things, and every day it’s something different. My role with the company has changed from being the distiller/producer to being the face of the brand.  I am constantly talking to people in person or on the phone.  I do live presentations, nightly news features, videos, tastings, and store visits.  I am also involved in shows such as Bar Convent Brooklyn, Berlin, ADI, ACSA, etc.

According to you, what are some drinks trends we are set to see in the near future?

Whiskey in general is coming on strong all over the world but especially in the USA.  People are really into trying new things, allocated bottles, barrel strength, and single-barrel versions.  The whiskey market has become more dynamic and trendier.

Where are you currently selling?

Florida, Texas, Illinois, NY, and NJ, TN. Also Germany, Australia, Taiwan, Peru, and Canada.

And lastly, what have you been drinking lately?

Old Fashioneds mostly but I have been cheating too! 4 oz Black Whiskey, 2 Oz Sprite, and a cherry!  Not sure what it's called but I will come up with a name for it.

A unique opportunity to present your spirits to America's top Bartenders. The scores are benchmarked for on-premise channels by top bartenders, mixologists, bar managers and national on-premise buyers. Final submission deadline is April 24, 2024. Enter Now.