Scott Schiller
A
fifth-generation distiller, Scott has over 25 years of experience in multiple
aspects of the spirits business, ranging from business and product development
to sales and marketing. Scott is an expert in creating strategies to mitigate
risks in startup and emerging spirits businesses and managing brand portfolios
of all sizes, including long-established, internationally distributed brands.
Throughout
his career, Scott has worked with companies and brands such as; Burnt Church Distillery,
Castle & Key, Catoctin Creek, Distillery of Modern Art, Few Spirits, Hangar
One Vodka, Jeptha Creed Distillery, Journeyman Distillery, Leiper's Fork
Distillery, Log Still Distillery, Old Dominick Distillery, O'Shaughnessy
Distilling Co., Park Distillery, Proximo Spirits, Republic Restoratives,
Sagamore Spirit, Sonoma Distilling, and St. George Spirits.
Scott
learned the distilling business from his grandfather, Joseph D'Anna, who owned
the world-famous Bucket O' Suds in Chicago, Illinois. "The Bucket"
offered over 80 proprietary spirits that Joe made by hand from personal
creations and recipes handed down or improved over five generations. Scott has
owned several distilling companies throughout his career, including J. D'Anna
Distilling, a manufacturer of cachaça and cognacs with facilities in Brazil,
France, and the United States. Scott spearheaded the sale of J. D'Anna's brands
in 2008.
An
entrepreneur at heart, Scott started Thoroughbred in 2009, which was an
original concept he developed as an incubator for Brown-Forman Corporation (an
original suitor for J. D'Anna Distilling). Also, Scott assisted in the
conception and operational design behind the Distilled Spirits Epicenter, the
United States' only institution dedicated to the education of the distilling
industry. While working with Proximo Spirits, Scott oversaw new brand
development and was on the team that purchased Hangar One Vodka and Stranahan's
Colorado Whiskey.
Today,
Thoroughbred has personally assisted in constructing and managing 40 new
distilleries and over 75 new spirits brands and has brought three companies to
exit. Scott also serves as a guest speaker and mentor for the Entrepreneurship
Department at his alma mater, Miami University, the Distilled Spirits
Epicenter, the American Distilling Institute, American Craft Spirits
Association, Scottish Craft Distillers Association, and the London Craft
Beverage Expo, and is a contributing writer to Artisan Spirit Magazine.