Local Distillery Focuses on Community
March 26, 2021 - Austin
Still Austin Whiskey Co. takes a unique approach to their product via their environmental and sustainability efforts. The company works with local farmers and engineers to have a small carbon footprint. Courtesy Images.
By: Valeria Torrealba - Senior Reporter, San Antonio Sentinel
Located in Austin, Texas, the Still Austin Whiskey Co. and distillery strives to give back to it’s eclectic community.
Its latest unveiling of their iconic gin; The Naturalist, shows that good alcohol and core community values can be mixed— a force to be reckoned with.
CEO Chris Seals recalls the beginning of Still Austin, a legacy that remains deeply rooted to the musicians around the city.
Seals and his father took on the journey to start a whiskey distillery that supports the local community, as an “expression” of themselves. Seeking a way to capture the heart of Austin — a city that thrives on creativity, technology, music and innovation, and Texas as a whole— the company birthed The Naturalist; a botanical spirit.
“If you encounter our spirits, you will encounter the people of Texas and get a sense of who we are as people,” Seals said. “For us, that way of doing that really meant that we honored who we are and what makes us different from the very beginning.”
One of the early decisions that we made was that we wanted to make spirits that are made entirely from all of our grain, which is the main ingredient in making spirits [which comes from] Texas.”
Seals explained Texas is a rich community, full of musicians, cowboys, and a deep connection to the land.
The Art
Still Austin Whiskey Co. partnered with local artist Marc Burckhardt, for The Naturalist’s nature themed bottle, which embodies Austin’s green spaces.
As a city, Austin has a unique air of creativity to it. With green spaces and skyscrapers accompanied by a lively nightlife and thriving music scene. Burckhardt took all of those elements and brought them on to the label of The Naturalist and The Musician, a gin and bourbon,
“For me, it was keeping with this idea of the muses of creativity, this idea of what Austin really is. And it’s a mix of a lot of different creative souls, different spirits that have been brought together to make this place a really unique city,” Burckhardt explained.
“If you encounter our spirits, you will encounter the people of Texas and get a sense of who we are as people. For us, that way of doing that really meant that we honored who we are and what makes us different from the very beginning.”- Chris Seals
In the latest unveiling of Still Austin’s iconic gin; The Naturalist, shows that good alcohol and core community values can be mixed— a force to be reckoned with. Courtesy Image.
Green spaces: Green Footprint
Still Austin takes a unique approach to their product and focus goes into the environmental and sustainability efforts. The company works with local farmers and engineers to maintain a small carbon footprint.
“We hand make everything ourselves, from grain to glass. We cook, ferment, distill, barrel, bottle — we do everything to make the highest quality,” Seals said.
“We work with a group of energy engineers out of UT (University of Texas- Austin) to minimize our energy and water use. We have a zero waste facility, and we encourage farmers to grow grain varieties that are better for Texas and more sustainable that increases the biodiversity of our region,” he continued.
The Musician, Lady of Still Austin
Still Austin Whiskey Co.’s specialty bourbon, The Musician represents the lifeblood of Austin’s community: it’s musicians.
“[The Musician] has a quality that is very rounded, very soft, and it has a characteristic that is extremely difficult and requires focus. It’s finesse,” Seals explained. “One aspect of our community, which is our musicians, who do the exact same thing with a little finesse, they take us on a journey, an emotional journey into our own hearts and our own feelings. We connect together as a community. And that led to the inspiration of The Musician, being the lady of Still Austin, if you will.”
Staying Afloat
Still Austin Whiskey Co. centers its work around local musicians and artists, supporting the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) through fundraisers and different events.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, business for the distillery was disrupted, but their efforts to support the heart of their community through virtual concerts remained.
Still Austin also partnered with local healthcare facilities, going as far as distributing hand sanitizer to local hospitals.
In a bold move, Seals ensured that each employee would maintain their job at the company, granting them job security and a livelihood.
“All of those pivots were possible because we have incredible people that were incredibly creative, incredibly committed to our vision, to what we’re trying to accomplish. In the worst of times, our community supported us, and we were supporting our local community,” Seals said. “It’s really the power of going local. We really experienced that at a level that we never could have before without the pandemic. I’m just one guy. We’ve got nearly 40 people who work for Still Austin and they’re the ones that made it happen. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Valeria Torrealba is an opinions columnist and public relations assistant at the University Star, a student publication of Texas State University. Email her at reporter@sasentinel.com