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

Alright, Garrett thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

At 29 years old, I was in a position in my life where I could either do something big for myself and the people in my life or just settle on working for other people my entire life and answering to others. I decided to take the risk and it has been paying off since!

In 2020, during the middle of the pandemic, I made the most money I’ve ever made in my life (nearing about 90k per year to be exact). But I wasn’t happy, and I wasn’t satisfied. I Have been in the alcohol industry for about 9 years and I was working for a very large distributing company at the time for about 7 of those years. Almost the entire time I was in the same position and kept getting false promises that I would be moved up into the next position with management. That time never came and after my fifth interview for the same position I knew I had to make a change in my life. I lost the position to a couple people that had only been with the company a year or two but would go out golfing with the other managers from time to time. Looking back, I am thankful that I never got that position.

After consulting with a few friends and others in the industry that had been in a similar position, I took a giant risk of taking my entire life savings with my 401K and creating my very own Whiskey brand, now called Mossy Horn Whiskey. It was an amazing feat for me but it was never easy. I was scared I would lose everything. I was scared that I didn’t know what I was doing. But God put people in my life that would help and guide me along the way!

The hardest part of it all was quitting my career of 7 years and a stable income for the unknown. As you can imagine I was terrified of many things to come. But I got in touch with amazing vendors and friends that lead me and helped me out through the entire process. Once I created my business and got all my raw materials I got linked up with the most amazing Distributing company in Texas with Greenlight Distributors! They have been amazing and a key component in helping me grow and make Mossy Horn a statement Brand throughout North Texas!

I continue to grow Mossy Horn nearing 1200 cases this year, and I am growing with new lines to come in the coming months.

This has been the biggest risk and at the same time, the best risk that I have ever taken.

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?

I started in this industry at 21 years old. My cousin called me one day to offer me a job to work for him on the bottling line at a small distillery in Lewisville, TX. I was making $8.5 an hour just putting corks and labels on bottles every day.

Now I own the brand, and it is a whiskey. A blend of straight whiskies to be exact. I have a very specific formula and aged barrels that I use for my brand. It is very clean and pure from grain to glass. There are no additives or sugars in my whiskey, so it is a drinkable whiskey for people who want to drink without sugar or need gluten free products. My product will fit those categories.

The thing that sets me apart is that I do it all myself. It is in every since of the word a handmade product. I don’t hire huge marketing companies to sell and push my brand, I don’t pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into it or even millions. I can’t. My brand is authentic and represents hard work and grit. That’s what I have to give the people. Not to mention an amazing and unique tasting whiskey. It’s different because of my unique blend. There will never be a whiskey that tastes like the one I have created.

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

The hardest part of what I dealt with at other companies was being one of the youngest in the room. I was treated like a child. Yet, I was a child that could dominate a market like no other and still receive little to no credit. I would ask repeatedly to upper management what can I do to be better and get to the next level? And for 3 years the only answer I got in return was “you’re doing great just keep doing what you are doing and you will get there”. That has never been more of a lie. The one thing I had to do to get where I wanted to go is to change. So. I changed my career. I got away from the people who told me that I was doing everything right. I went to people who told me what I needed to do and how I needed to grow. I made a change in my life. And it was much better. I took my 401k out and started my brand. And only continue to look forward and grow.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

As a Brand owner, I had to create this product from scratch. And I did not know where to start. I made many phone calls and emails just trying to figure out who to get glass from and how to hire a shipping company and how to make and print labels etc etc… a couple of the hardest parts of this process was finding the right distiller and distributing company that would be great for me. This is where I hit gold. I found a man that just bought a distillery in west Dallas and he was able to help me out tremendously! He worked with me and I am very grateful for his willingness to take me in and make my brand. All the raw goods are shipped to his distillery in and he makes the product using my formula and design. The product is shipped from his distillery to the distributor. The distributor is key on my growth and I was fortunate enough to get in touch with an amazing distributor. They have grown my brand tremendously and got me into huge chain accounts like Specs and Total wine! Thanks to them and their amazing sales teams I am in 130+ liquor stores throughout Texas.

Contact Info:

• Website: MossyhornWhiskey.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/mossyhornwhiskey
• Facebook: Facebook.com/mossyhornwhiskey
• Twitter: @mossyhornwhisky

Image Credits
Swingle+Co