mainLogo

Bartender Spirits Awards

  • Enter Now
  • My Account

Producer Profiles

The Values of Your Tasting Room & Distillery Tours

Photo for: The Values of Your Tasting Room & Distillery Tours

12/09/2022 Jason Hevelone, President and Inspired Distiller at CopperMuse Artisan Distillery share his experience working as a distiller and his views on the evolution of the spirits industry.

From pursuing an engineering career to starting a distillery, Jason began to get the itch to create something different and unique after a couple of decades of corporate life. Jason's love of local beer and wine eventually prompted him to try distilled spirits. A fateful gin and tonic made with a Colorado craft gin piqued Jason's curiosity and inspired him to open his craft distillery in Fort Collins, and thus CopperMuse was born! Jason has expertise in reliability stress testing, manufacturing, management, product engineering, brewing, and distilling. His mission is to build on the area's craft brewing excellence and apply this legacy and quality standards to his distillation efforts.

What has your distilling career been like? Tell us a little about your background.

It all started when two engineering freshmen met in 1988 at Colorado State University. Not only did I and Heather fall in love, but we also developed a fondness for the excellent local beer and homebrews. We completed our degrees, married, and pursued engineering careers and families. After a couple of decades of corporate life, I started getting the itch to create something different and unique. My love of craft beer and a passion for wine eventually led me to try distilled spirits. A fateful gin and tonic made from a Colorado craft gin captured my interest and sparked the idea to open his craft distillery in Fort Collins - hence CopperMuse Distillery was born! Distilling is a perfect way to marry the skills of a homebrewer with the artistic expression of a winemaker. We opened our doors for business in April 2014 and have never looked back.

Image: Jason Hevelone

Image: Jason Hevelone

How do you think the Spirits industry has evolved?

I feel the spirits industry is evolving along a similar arc as craft brewing did a couple of decades ago. Craft spirit producers are much less afraid to experiment with their products and produce spirits that don't always fit traditional styles or methods of manufacture. Bartenders and customers are increasingly seeking out unique flavors for their cocktails and appreciate the small producer's authenticity to their offerings. Cocktail popularity and culture continue to grow every year, especially with the younger generations eager to explore the versatility of spirits in creating such a variety of drink options.

Tell us a little about your day-to-day role.

I am still very active in the day-to-day operations at the distillery and our restaurant tasting room. Initially, I performed all aspects of distillery operations from fermentation to distillation, aging products in barrels to bottling them for sale. Over time, I’ve hired additional staff to do most of the manual work while I take a more business visionary and leadership role. Increasingly my focus has been towards supporting our distribution sales teams in several states. With that said, I’m still called to duty as our resident handyman, IT manager, and occasional janitor.

Image: Jason Hevelone

Image: Jason Hevelone

What's unique about Distillery that you like?

I like that we only produce all-natural products with no artificial flavors or imitation ingredients. When we make our Infused Vodkas and Rums, our team processes several hundred pounds of cucumbers, strawberries, jalapenos, horseradish root, pineapple, etc. Some of our spirits are lightly filtered and have natural sediments or pulp that greatly enhance the flavor and mouthfeel of the spirit.

What were some of the challenges you faced when you distilled your first spirit?

The first spirit I distilled was our Silver Rum. I like to label all my experimental splits with letters of the alphabet: A, B, C, and so on. Unfortunately, I wasn’t happy with any of my first attempts, so I kept formulating new recipes and attempting additional distillation runs to the point that I ran out of letters. Finally, being a former engineer, I started labeling my experiments using the Greek Alphabet: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, etc. I’m happy to say that I finally got the right Silver Rum formulation when I got to the letter Pi (π) – a very fitting outcome for a former engineer.

[[relatedPurchasesItems-31]]

How do you think a distiller can help in driving marketing and sales personally?

I am introverted by nature and don’t like to boast about my products. However, I am often the best salesperson because people love meeting the distiller. I can speak about our spirits in a very intimate and authentic way. I am also aware that I’m not always the best person to market or sell our products, which is when I hire those who have that gift. I realized that I should not design our brand or our product labels because they would look like an engineer did them. We are fortunate to have a very talented graphic artist on our team.

What are some of the essential skills required to distill?

Creativity, attention to detail, teamwork, and managing supplies and inventory are the most apparent skills. But, as we grow, I also see the importance of less glamorous things such as process control and well-written standard operating procedures (SOPs) to assure high quality, consistent products.

Define a good distiller.

Someone who loves to connect their passion for making spirits to the customer experience.

What advice would you give to future distillers?

Don’t underestimate the value of your tasting room and distillery tours. Your customers don’t want things like a bottle of whiskey. Instead, they want an experience and an authentic connection to a creator – a distiller.

Which is your go-to drink and what is the perfect setting you enjoy it in?

I most often make myself a simple Gin and Tonic. Our botanical-forward Gin with Hibiscus blends so well with the distinctive bitter flavor of quinine and lime juice. So light and refreshing – I love it year-round!

What do you do when you are not distilling?

I like to mountain bike in the foothills around Fort Collins and Moab, UT. My wife and I also love to cook together.

Image: Jason Hevelone

Image: Jason Hevelone

What is your idea of a good life?

After sunset, I love enjoying good food and drink with friends or family on our back deck. Evenings in Colorado can be pleasant as the temperature cools and stars pop right out of the clear sky.

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.