Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tobias Hogan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tobias, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

I’m in a very old industry historically closed to innovation and access from startups. The distilling industry is as old as civilization itself and still shrouded in mystique. The state has a tight yet diverse regulatory control on the distilling industry making it an exceptionally difficult to navigate as a startup. Sales are regulated differently in every state so expanding sales past your jurisdiction can be costly and difficult to navigate.

One thing I have embraced to help address these challenges is modern technology. I chose to purchase an Innovative sill that reduces labor and energy cost helping to free up funds for product development, marketing and packaging.

Since craft distilling became more accessible in the past 20 years with law changes most entrepreneurs have followed a similar model, installing big bright shinny copper stills with valves, pipes, columns and plates that are spectacular to look at and difficult to master. It takes a lot of infrastructure and energy to run this kind of still; they are impressive and a big part of the marketing strategy for many operations. I chose to buy a modern less visually attractive piece of equipment that is more efficient and operates at a significantly lower energy and labor cost than the traditional units used in craft distilling.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

After many years working in wine cellars, bars and restaurants and a long term interest in distillation, an opportunity presented in late 2023 to take over a distillery space and make a go at creating my own Gin, a category that I’ve loved since I started drinking Martinis, Lemony Fizzes and Negronsi as a young adult.

Being very familiar with and enjoying London Dry style Gin I didn’t feel there was a lot of room for a new Craft Gin in that category so we set about to make a contemporary style Gin that speaks to the region in which we live. Many of the ingredients we use are farmed or grow wild in the Pacific Northwest and along the West Coast. We aim to make our products as close to home as possible creating a beverage that is herbal and citrus forward with less of the Juniper, pine tree expression typically associated with Gin.

The flagship product is called “Gin Through the Sages” and includes a few different kinds of Sage, Lemon Balm, Eucalyptus along with Roses (we’re located in The City of Roses after all) and more; a floral sip-able Gin that lends well to a big clear ice cube with a spritz of fresh lemon oil or mixed into a Martini with a portion of Dry Spanish Vermouth. Our small production size and hands-on approach ensure that every batch of our Gin is of high quality and refined. A lot of big brands are loose with their distillation cut points and proof which provides greater volume and profit but less of a refined quality product.

Our Brand is meant to be fun and light hearted with the intent to expand the Gin clientele to sophisticated more curious drinkers that may be turned off by traditional intensity of the Juniper profile. A Gin for the next generation not the old stodgy Gins of yesteryear, this desire to expand scope of the Gin category is entwined with the philosophy and identity of the brand.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I initially envisioned opening a Bar/Restaurant and Distillery as a full omplementary concept in 2010 but was unable to make that happen because the laws in my jurisdiction did not permit such a concept. I had to work at opening a distillery alone but that was delayed because of an existing business relationship and the disinterest of partners from going down that route, so more delays, I had to wait until I could extricate myself from that business relationship and pursue the distillery.
In 2019 I was finally able to fully pursue the distillery concept and was confronted with the herculean task of either opening my own location or having someone “co-pack” a Gin for me, or lease me time in their facility to produce my own brand of Gin. This effort was met with stiff resistance from existing distilleries both in my area and outside of the state. I could not find anyone willing to produce my Gin, lend me the space or allow me to share a location. I was met with many a NO with reasons given such as, “we’re too busy to take on any new clients” or “we don’t have any room in our distillery for more production” to “we’re not interested in adding additional Craft Spirits competition in an already very competitive field” all valid reasons but no after no was the response I received.

The pandemic was a clear disruption for my goal of opening a distillery. I continued my search working on creative solutions to make my dream a reality, this led me to asking wineries to carve out a section of their production facility to make my Gin under Agricultural licensing options but it was NO to that idea as well, so the search continued.

Eventually my perseverance payed off, while searching through commercial listings for a distillery space I happened upon a listing in a newly renovated facility that was willing to partition larger spaces to accommodate small star-up maker businesses. I quickly called with an inquiry and after a brief discussion with the owners of the building I was informed a space that had been previously used as a distillery would be available for lease shortly, it was an absolutely the perfect spot for me to launch my brand. In late 2023, after five years of dedicated searching, I was able to negotiate a lease agreement and launch my distillery dream. All of the licensing and government requirements took until June of the following year to finalize but finally “Gin Through The Sages” was launched into the tasting room and bar called Can Bar where we offer Conservas boards with pickles, olives, bread, house made fermented hot sauce and compound butters along with other bar food, Gin cocktails and more.

Perseverance, tenacity, creativity, hard work and resilience eventually pay off if you just keep going and remember that you don’t get to where you are without making many small advances that add up to something big.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media presence is important and effective but there is no set rule to growing your brand. Each and every brand has their own audience and techniques to connect with the customer. I find it most important to know who your market is and how to reach them.
My brand is still new and we’re growing our online presence every day but incrementally and authentically. I find the best way to reach my target market is to find the common interests and follow, repost and reference things that are relevant to my brand. I feel this is the best way to organically grow a following and maintain authenticity.

Social media is crowded and messages become homogeneous quickly so it’s very important to have your own voice and your own identity so that your target customer base believes in your brand authenticity, the last thing you want is for people to feel like they’re being sold to or prospected just to make a sale. This strategy, in my opinion, will lead to more positive and long term brand interaction and loyalty. If people think you’ve “sold out” or start radically changing the messaging you risk turning them sour on your brand and tarnishing you with an air of insincerity.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.AgrodolceCo.com
• Instagram: @CanBar_PDX

Image Credits

Tobias Hogan