work with regularly. And we help support probably 10-times the number of employees we have.”
Black Button Distilling directly employs 62 New Yorkers, 16 of whom are full-time. “The rest are brand ambassa- dors,” Jason explained. “I think it takes a special kind of person to join a start-up distillery; you have to be able to wear many hats, and the hours are often late into the night. And although you are constantly surrounded by spirits, you can’t always imbibe – so a good amount of self-restraint is also key,” he laughed. “We produce about 11,000 12-bottle cases of spirits a year,” Jason continued. “That’s about seven tractor trailer loads or a decent Monday at a big distillery like Jack Daniels or Jim Beam. By comparison, we’re pretty small. Now, as far as the craft world goes, we are probably in the top ten percentile of family-owned, independent distillers in the USA – so we definitely have our place in the market. We’re big enough to invest in quality product and training for our people, but small enough that every batch is still handmade. Someone asked me the other day what kind of computer program runs our equipment and I just laughed and said, ‘We’re all manual here.’” Jason ultimately attributes his confidence in his hands-on abilities to his childhood. “I’m fiercely independent. My parents were very much the opposite of helicopter parents. They were supportive, but encouraged me to figure life out on my own. Family dinner was also like a crash course in business. My parents would talk about their day and help each other figure things out about each other’s businesses. I was too young to really apply much of it then, but I soaked it up like a sponge. My first job was with a small company and since I was young and single I was sent all over the country to deal with problems in the business. I got to see so many things and found out early on that I could accom- plish what I set my mind to. Then I went into accounting and was helping other small businesses and as I saw my cus- tomers working on their businesses, I became convinced that I could find something I was passionate about and be successful.”
“Add in a very supportive population and it’s a great recipe for success.” Black Button Distilling is located at 85 Railroad Street in Rochester, NY near the Rochester Public Market and only twenty from Exit 390 on the NYS Thruway. The on-site tasting room is equipped to host birthdays, business meetings, charity events, family gatherings and company parties. “Where else can you also take a factory tour, taste artisan spirits in a flight, and take some home with you if you like?” Jason said. “And our Buffalo tasting room is just four kilometres from the Peace Bridge.”
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DECEMBER 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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