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OLD Fourth Distillery (O4D) is the
first distillery in the city of Atlanta since prohibition in 1906. O4D was founded by brothers Craig and Jeff Moore along with their childhood friends Gabe Pilato, Justin Gray and Andy DuVall. In 2013, O4D started a Kickstarter campaign to help raise funds to complete construction on the distillery and was able to receive 361 backers with pledges totaling $40,372.
Tell us the personal risk associated with launching a new business? With any new business, especially one that is breaking new ground, comes with risks – both personal and professional. I think too many people are afraid to take personal risks because of the potential for failure and how that might reflect on them personally. We kind of feel differently about our businesses. Partly because we have achieved success and know that if we have a good idea and work hard and focus on our execution, we can do great things. Starting this business, however, has certainly stolen focus from some of our other enterprises and has pulled resources from those same businesses. Not only that, but the sheer amount of time necessary to start a distillery and to begin production has proven to be monumental. What was has been your greatest fear or obstacle thus far? Honestly, our biggest concern to date is our ability to produce enough product to meet what we expect to be tremendous demand. We worry that we will not be able to keep up and our facility will need immediate expansion in order for us to fulfill the demands just in the Atlanta marketplace. What has been your greatest reward thus far? That’s easy, the reward is seeing the excitement and support from the community. We could not be more
On Nov. 20, 2014, the Distillery officially opened to the public for tours and tastings and the vodka made available in Georgia stores, bars and restaurants on Dec. 19, 2014. The Distillery is located off of Edgewood Avenue and is currently producing vodka but will soon introduce gin, whisky and bourbon in the future. Tours and tastings will be offered to the public on Thursdays 2 – 7 p.m. and can be scheduled online at o4d.com or by phone at 844-OLD-FOUR. humbled and gratified to know that we are bringing Atlanta something that it has not had in over a hundred years. What makes your business stand out? Well, being first in Atlanta certainly is a huge feather in our cap. But we want our product and the presentation of our product to stand on its own merit. We work incredibly hard to produce every bottle of vodka that we make and we think the slow handmade product really does have a character that can’t be found in a mass produced industrial spirit. What advice would give an aspiring entrepreneur? Take risks, find a mentor and most of all trust, in the fact that 99 percent of success comes from hard work and responsiveness to your customer. The other one percent is intelligence and if you simply know what you’re talking about and are responsive, you will be a success. What are your plans for expansion? The biggest thing for us is to find more space in Old Fourth Ward so we can develop an even greater presence in the neighborhood that we have modeled our distillery after. It really boils down to more space and equipment to expand our production capability so we can then bring Atlanta’s first spirit since 1906 to the rest of the country and the world.
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