Thanks to a focus on smooth agave spirits, business is hopping for co-owner Wendy Tilton’s distillery.

Tequila from Mexico will often have
a lingering bite, but not so Wild Hare Distillery’s agave spirits from Tempe,
Tilton says. The distillery’s motto is “Dare to be smooth.”

Tilton adds, “I think that’s a
unique feature in our spirits, all of them. I can’t tell you how many times a
customer will come in for a tasting. And when they finish, one of the first
things that they’ll say is, ‘Wow, this is really smooth!'” Tilton has been asked
more than once, “How do you do that?”

Tilton says she and co-founder Jim
Matz display a “knack for fermentation.” Furthermore, the flavor profile of
their spirits owes something to the distillery utilizing pot stills — often used
when making whisky or brandy — rather than a column still, she adds.

To produce their base spirit, they
purchase the honey-like agave nectar, which is pressed from blue Weber
agave
, from an importer in Los Angeles. The agave arrives in a 270-gallon
tote. “It goes into the fermentation tank where we put in a ratio of water to
agave,” says Tilton. “And then we measure the sugar that we need for it, and we
pitch it with yeast, and we give it a nutrient mix that we get from a company
that does our yeast for us. It ferments in about five days. And then we leave
it to sit for about another week.” Afterwards, the mixture will go into the
company’s four pot stills for distillation.

From their base distillation — sold
on its own as DROVE Cristal — they’ll produce the additional products within
their line of DROVE agave spirits. For example, their DROVE El Chocolate is
flavored with cacao. And their best-selling DROVE Roble Blanco Salvaje marries Madagascar
vanilla beans with the spirit as it rests in a barrel. “It has a bourbon
mouthfeel for an agave spirit,” says Tilton of the latter product. “It has the
sweetness of the agave. And you get that nice oak, rounded flavors. And then
you get the finish of the creaminess of the vanilla bean.” The Roble Blanco
Salvaje won a bronze award at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition,
which the distillery’s website says was the only domestic winner in the
competition’s “All Other Agave Spirits” category.

Not all of Wild Hare’s ventures
have been successful. The distillery set out to make whiskey, purchasing its
own equipment. But unexpected setbacks resulted. “We spent thousands of
dollars, with complete failure,” says Tilton. But as a result of an outside
party asking Tilton to source whiskey for them, the distillery has established
relationships with distilleries in Tennessee and Indiana. It’s resulted in Wild
Hare Distillery establishing its own WHD Spirits line of whiskey and vodka. The
distillery presently offers its own barreling and white
labeling services as well.

In addition to its own tasting
room, products from Wild Hare Distillery can be found at about 26 accounts
within Arizona. The spirits can also be purchased
online
by consumers in 33 states. And in addition to 2023 being the
Chinese Year of the Rabbit, there are other auspicious signs ahead for the distillery.
While the company has experienced a steady 30 percent growth per year, Tilton
points to the ever- increasing popularity of tequila-like spirits. (Forbes
recently reported that tequila sales continue to impressively grow in
comparison with vodka sales.)

Wild Hare began after Tilton and
Matz decided they wanted to begin distilling commercially. Although they both
enjoy their whiskey, they decided they’d first undertake an agave spirit. In
addition to tequila being popular in the Southwest, Tilton’s market research
indicated that tequila/agave spirits were expected to experience “a pretty
strong hold on the market.”

Photos courtesy Wild Hare Distillery

Given her time working as a real
estate professional and professor, Tilton is pretty used to studying the market
research. (If the distillery ever decides to move out of its 1,800-square-foot
distilling space in Tempe’s Kyrene Commercial Center industrial park and
purchase their own facility, she’s well-equipped to undertake the logistical
tasks.) Tilton’s undergraduate degree in biology and chemistry has helped out
at the distillery as well.

Whereas Tilton needed to be
convinced to begin their distillery venture, Matz — who previously ran his own
hardscape and landscape business –led the charge. He presently does most of the
distilling work, while Tilton oversees front office business.

In fact, the distillery’s name owes
to Matz’s mischievous nature in his youth, when his grandmother used to tell
him that he had a wild hare/hair in a place where the sun don’t shine. “So ‘Wild Hare’ seemed to fit” as
the moniker for the distillery, says Tilton.

Challenges: Growing the brand. “Distribution is very difficult,” says Tilton. For instance, a brand will earn
only half the retail price from a distributor, while meanwhile needing to
invest in marketing. “So, unless you have someone behind you, or helping you,
or believes in your product, it can be quite challenging.”

Opportunities: “Good distribution
and growth,” says Tilton. “As much as that’s the challenge, that’s where
opportunities lie.”

Needs: “I don’t think I can ever
have enough money for marketing,” says Tilton. “Marketing is our big challenge.”

Shares: