“What marketing budget?,” is the refrain. Time and again when talking to craft and artisanal distillers the question turns to “how do we get our product in front of the right people and noticed?” Ralph Erenzo of Tuthilltown Spirits, Sonja Kassebaum of North Shore Distillery, Lance Winter of St. George Spirits, and Rory Donovan of Peach Street Distillers all have answers. And, despite the fact that these aren’t the distillers of Copperhead Road, their passion, colorful approach, and war stories entertain, inform, and illustrate how nothing sells product better than the person who made it, the distiller.

“The story sells.” says Ralph Erenzo over the din that occurs when you get over 50 of the most innovative and passionate distillers together in a hangar doubling as a distillery. And, with Ralph, even then it’s hard not to hear him, “We had a group of potential investors in a couple of weeks ago…that argued that the story [of a spirit] was meaningless and that someone in Indiana or even Rochester or Buffalo wouldn’t buy it because of a story. I had just that morning returned, from Buffalo and Rochester, where I’d sold everything I had that was alloted, to people who’d never tasted it before.” From bringing bartenders and bar managers to your distillery and providing them a quick course in Distilling 101 to “[having bartenders] tasting it coming out of the still and having your product become theirs,” Ralph believes in sharing your products’ stories and letting that story sell for you. He’ll gladly tell you his.

Sonja, quick to make a cocktail for you and quick to tell you, “we’re a scrappy little distillery just north of Chicago,” emphasizes a different tack, that of credibility through cocktails.

“Everything [in our product] is hand-done and we’re really trying to appeal to the foodie audience and the cocktail audience. So, I’m a member of our bartender’s guild, I write a blog about cocktails, I was a cocktail nerd before I got into this and is partly why i got into this. So I try to do those things so that I can make a suggestion to a bartender and they’ll listen to me because I’ve earned some credibility with them….A lot of brands are just throwing out sugary schlock cocktails…on your website have current content and quality cocktail recipes that are really basic but have some pretty complex ones too….We have a monthly email newsletter that’s a great way to make people aware and excited about your product and be creative in your approach. [For example] we do cocktail pairing dinners and innovative stuff that demonstrates the quality of our products and ways to use them.”

And, once you’ve had some of Sonja’s cocktails, you’ll be excited about her products too. Until you sit down and talk to Sonja about North Shore’s Gin No. 6, you may not realize just how well lavender works in a gin, and why it does. Once you know that, though, you want to try their other products as well. But, aside from the product, there’s Sonja herself.

Running into Sonja Sunday night at Heaven’s Dog in San Francisco close to closing time and starting a conversation about the absinthes in front of you is like walking into a buzzsaw formed of equal parts excitement and knowledgeable appreciation. You can fully expect a night with Sonja to end with promises of future good times to be had, invitations to discuss your shared passions more, and a hearty hug. And once a distiller makes this connection with you, in the words of Erenzo, “you come out of the realm of the salesman and into the realm of craftsman.”

“If Rory were any more laid-back I think he’d be dead,” I overhear. Almost true. But, behind that laissez-faire demeanor lies a shrewd observer who observes, after a discussion about labeling and packaging of products, the importance of the initial roll-out and launch of a product. Rory’s cooly-delivered, if laser-focused, observation is:

“Take time to do it right the first time. Talking about redesign and the money you can spend you get anxious to get out there [telling yourself] ‘ok, I’ve been doing this for two-to-four years,’ your equipment is here and you’re ready to see something go out the door, and you’ll do whatever it takes to get some piece-of-shit label slapped on your bottle so you can get it on the shelf. And, you only get to roll-out once and your roll-out is your biggest moment. You can always come out with a new variety or brand and try and do it again but your first time is always the most important….whether it’s in your backyard or you’re moving into a new state or something, make sure you sit down and make a plan and do everything you can that first time because it’s your only shot.”

Later, Rory bluntly tells the audience, his peers, “Contests are bullshit…I mean, they’re great for the person who wins them.” And Rory’s approach is reflected in his products. From Jackalope Gin, to Jack & Jenny Pear Brandy, to their newly-released Bourbon, the first in Colorado, his products present a bold and honest approach to distillation and craftsmanship. As do almost all the products I tasted that weekend from these fine and brave distillers that pour years of their lives into their product. Take a moment, next time you see that bottle you don’t immediately recognize on the third shelf down and buried in the middle, to take a second look and consider taking it home and pouring it into your glass. Chances are, you won’t be sorry.