“It started off as a passion project, just a hobby really,” Greg Norris, CEO and Master Distiller at BatchHouse Distillery, shares about his humble beginnings. With notes of cherry, oak and vanilla, BatchHouse Distillery crafts a bold Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey that graces the shelves of select locations in Colorado.
“It took about 3 ½ years to get the recipe right,” Greg reminisces. “It was very much grassroots. We actually started in the backyard of a house in Sedalia. From that, we paid homage to the small shed we were doing our batches out of. That is how we came up with the name, BatchHouse.”
New distillers often begin with vodka, but Greg jumped into the beautiful complexities of bourbon whiskey from the very start. He shares, “Bourbon is in my blood. Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, it’s part of me as a person, deep down. I didn’t know it. I had to discover it. Then the passion grew. I toured the bourbon trail a bunch when I was younger and worked out there too. It spoke to me more than a clear spirit. The robustness, the depth in the flavors are so fascinating to me—all the different facets. The different grains and materials you can use to change those flavor profiles are so fascinating. That’s why I stuck with bourbon.”
Greg attributes BatchHouse Distillery's success to his team: “We’ve been fortunate to start with the right people.”
Outside of great passions and a successful music career, Greg knows the people in his life are the most important. His wife, Anya, and son, Logan, are what life is all about for him. Anya is his COO, while his business partner, Ken Hoyt, is the CTO. The three of them carry the vision of BatchHouse Distillery.
Greg explains the heart behind their current selection: “Our Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey is a collaboration. This particular product is a combination where we are using Colorado grains and Kentucky water. A lot of people are using Colorado grains and Colorado water. We do a collaboration with the limestone water from Kentucky.”
“Ken being from Colorado and me being from Kentucky, we wanted to have that collaborative sort of feel come across in the product as well. That’s why we have the Colorado grains and Kentucky water. It represents where we’re each coming from.”
“We want to be a household name, but we don’t want to sacrifice any integrity,” Greg explains. “We view ourselves as more of a sipping whiskey and boutique product.” With integrity at the helm of their values, Greg and his team are selective in scaling with wisdom.
“I’m kind of relentless in my approach to things when I’m passionate about them. I don’t know how to do anything part-time. It’s just all in. That’s just what it is. I’m committed to my commitments,” Greg shares about his commitments to both his business and family.
His word of advice to those pursuing their dreams is, “Don't skimp on anything in the beginning. Get your recipe right. Get your vision right. Then, get the equipment that you need and don’t take corners in that either. At the end of the day, if you want a good product, you have to have good equipment to get it across the finish line and then that’s when the work starts. Getting your product on the shelf is where the work starts. Once you’re on the shelf, it’s time to really kick into high gear. Success isn’t getting in the stores or getting your music on the radio. It’s the relentless pursuit after the opportunities are there.”
www.batchhousedistillery.com