Procrastination . . .

One of the things on my plate is nailing down insurance for our company.  I've gone as far as talking to two commercial insurance brokers, one of which specializes in liquor.  As I've suspected, it's just like my farm insurance.  If a broker isn't familiar with the industry, the quote is astronomical.  The unfamiliar broker guesstimated our premium would be $10,000/year, which, quite frankly, is ridiculous given the very limited exposure we have.  The liquor industry expert guesstimated our premium would be $1,500/year.  Much more like it.

But now it is over to me to fill out the reams of paperwork for the brokers . . . . and, honestly, I'm procrastinating . . . .

Which charity?

We plan on our vodka donating generously to good causes.  There are many, bur main focus is rooted in our location.  The Hudson Valley is one of the most beautiful places I know,

We'll be donating a portion of our proceeds to land conservation.  It underpins so many things -- equestrian pursuits, gardening, country life, agriculture, wildlife and scenic beauty.

We have some other causes on our short list, and would love to hear suggestions as well.

More about our label

Because the label is the single most important marketing device we have, we've been really working hard on it.  We are on the third or fourth iteration, and each version is cleaner and less cluttered than the last.  I never realized how hard it is to be simple!  On the one hand, it is simple, elegant and powerful; and on the other, it has major elements that have never been seen on a liquor label before (not the art!).  It feels a bit like Christmas morning, where I'm bursting with excitement to SHOW everyone what it looks like, but that won't be possible until we launch. It just looks SO GREAT!!!

Art on the label?

Another reminder that there is nothing new we can do . . .

We are strongly considering putting original art on the back of our label and I came across this:

http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2014/09/a-new-frontier-for-custom-wine-labels/

A vineyard is putting original art on their labels!  However, they are doing it a bit differently than we are.  We are thinking of  commissioning an artist to make a picture that embodies our brand and where we come from.  The vineyard is envisioning something a bit different.  They are putting collectible art on the bottles and selling them for $800 a pop.

And now for something completely different

A bald eagle landed on our farm!

Another trademark application filed

one of the farm's meadows

Our designer had a really fantastic idea for our vodka (having to do with how we describe it).  Our liquor-label lawyer immediately nixed it, saying the TTB would never allow us to use the phrase on our bottle.

However, this very same phrase was trademarked in the past and -- luckily for us! --  abandoned just this year.  Yay us!  Our application is in.

In more developments

Another big decision was taken over the summer to replace our distiller.  While he makes an excellent product we found that he was unreliable.  We also learned we were not the only people to experience this.  Thankfully we discovered this before our first big production run.

We then spent a fair amount of time visiting other distillers both in and out of state, and have located an AMAZING one, who has an excellent product, and who is super professional.  Everyone who's ever worked with them (our accountant, American Spirits Exchange, our lawyer) gives their highest recommendation.

We are very happy to be working with them!

And so the next regulatory approval

So, we've managed to find the one lawyer in the US with the niche practice of getting formula and label approvals.  I've decided to stop posting names and firms as with everything I've learned from this journey I may want to do some consulting down the road to others wanting to start brands. (apologies for being a bit selfish).

At any rate, with this lawyer's help we've filed three different formula approvals (it is the same formula, just filed under different categories).  This should ensure that a) at least one gets approved and b) that we keep our options open as to how we describe our vodka.

The wait time is now 70+ days for approval, so while our applications wind their way through the labyrinth we will be extremely busy -- and I'll write about what we are up to in my next posts.

I'm Back!

note the bee photobombing my picture

OK, so I have a lot of catching up to do.  The Most Important News is that we have raised enough money to go forward -- and so we are.  Although we are working pretty feverishly there won't be very much tangible for the next six months, as we work through regulatory approvals, setting up a website, securing other trademarks, organizing promotional events for next summer etc etc etc.  But I'll break out the various things we are up to in future posts.