Iraq war veterans use their spirit to help comrades in need
Soldiers in a war zone have a lot of time to think because so much of deployment is spent waiting
Waiting on convoys. Waiting to attack. Waiting to be attacked. Waiting in a chow line. Waiting to go home.
Chris and Travis Whitmeyer, brothers who served in the U.S. Army, spent their waiting time in Iraq thinking about starting a business. Travis got interested in distilling spirits while based in Germany, and Chris had always wanted to run a business.
In 2012, they started Whitmeyer’s Distilling Co., the first legal distillery in Harris County since Prohibition. I wrote about the fledgling company in 2014 as part of the burgeoning craft distilling industry.
Five years later, I’m happy to report they are still going strong, expanding and giving back.
“Are we where we wanted it to be five, seven years ago? I
don’t know. That picture’s changed so many times,” Chris Whitmeyer said. “I’m sure we’d all like to make more money and be more comfortable. But we’re doing some good things, and we’ve got a lot of support.”
Before you can sell whiskey as a straight bourbon, it must age for at least two years. High-quality bourbons require much more aging, which ties up a lot of capital. While the Whitmeyers were waiting for their barrels to age, they also distilled vodka, gin and moonshine, which is an unaged corn whiskey.
Moonshine turned out to be a fad, and many entrepreneurs learned the hard way that craft distilling is a tough business. Persuading wholesale distributors to carry a product and then paying retailers to provide marquee shelf space is costly.
“We didn’t have the funds for the product and the funds for the marketers,” Whitmeyer explained.
They got a break when the Texas Legislature legalized sales from distillery tasting rooms.
“We just rolled the door up and put a piece of plywood on a couple of barrels and started serving on Saturdays,” Whitmeyer said. “And, you know, we’re making pretty good money doing it without really going after it.”
Distillery sales and a streamlined business plan put some wind in Whitmeyer’s sails. They moved into a larger space, built out a tasting room and bought two new stills. The company can now fill 50 barrels a month if they can find capital patient enough to allow the bourbon to age and become more valuable.
Whitmeyer’s, like other small distilleries, have set up so-called barrel programs. Private investors buy a share of a bourbon run for between $15,000 and $120,000. While the whiskey ages, interest accrues until the bottles sell, providing investors a handsome return.
The brothers want to raise $1.2 million over the next eight quarters, and they’ve already raised 40 percent, enough to keep the stills running into next year. The brothers are also developing a plan to move into a purpose-built distillery where they can expand production further.
“We’re ready to go back out and start venturing into the state and national scenes,” Whitmeyer said.
First, though, they are fulfilling another mission, which is to help fellow veterans. For June, all post-tax revenues from tasting room sales will go to Camp Hope, a facility run by the PTSD Foundation of America.
Not just the profits, but every penny that doesn’t go to taxes.
“We’ve lost some buddies that we went to war with that have come home and have been unable to readjust. It seems like every few months we’ll get on Facebook and someone has just deteriorated,” Whitmeyer said. “This last Memorial Day came around, and Travis was reading about some friends and said: ‘We need to make a move.’ ”
Camp Hope provides temporary housing to vets with PTSD and their immediate family members, while also running an intensive, 90-day PTSD treatment program. Professional counselors help vets and their families stabilize enough to return to their communities, where they receive follow-up care.
Beginning in July, one dollar from every bottle Whitmeyer’s sells will go to Camp Hope.
The Whitmeyers do not like bringing attention to their military service. Chris told me he wants people to support their business because the whiskey is good, not because they are vets. But they also want people to help former troops who are struggling.
“Hopefully, we can raise more awareness, and more people will donate and get out there and volunteer and help,” he said.
I’m a bit of a whiskey nerd, and I think the Whitmeyer brothers make a great product. But just as important, they are good people using their small business to do good for the community.
This Independence Day, I’ll be pouring my guests Whitmeyer’s to honor those who make the celebration possible.
Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and policy. chris.tomlinson@chron.com twitter.com/cltomlinson