We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Walter Easterbrook a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Walter, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Arte Agave began in NYC 10 years ago, when I saw the writing on the wall about the Tequila/Mezcal category exploding into the United States. I was bartending in New York City and people started to ask more and more questions about expressions of tequila and we were starting to hear whispers of this mysterious Mezcal character. Personally, I loved Agave Spirits and wanted to make myself a vessel for other folks to fall in love with it too. It started as some bartenders wanting to create meaningful NYC events. There are all kinds of festivals out there, but I knew we could create something unique by moving forward with heart. This would be a meaningful festival, it would be something that stuck in your memory because it was built by hospitality people and their friends! We have been working hard on Arte Agave and Whiskey Washback was close behind – a night to celebrate the rebellious whiskey originators and the people who keep it alive today. Same groundwork, different spirit. What started as small tasting parties (in someone’s office, no less) amongst brand friends and NYC cocktail industry folks is now a beloved celebration in 4 cities and counting. Now that these categories are being so deeply embraced, our festivals are gaining real momentum. The Bowery Collective team feels honored and excited to work with spirit brands, local artists, entrepreneurs and restaurants to celebrate the rich and vibrant culture we have fallen in love with. The vision for Arte Agave and Whiskey Washback is to take our platform and shine vibrant lights on the spirit community and create a space for celebrating it. Community, culture, cocktails, food, creation, celebration!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi- I am Walter Easterbrook.

I started my career in hospitality over 20 years ago. Having started out bartending in a multitude of restaurants and high volume corporate establishments, I was soon opening and managing bars and went on to planning and launching a wide array of selective events both in the US and abroad.
I first discovered my passion for the hospitality industry in college where I was in charge of all the parties. Shortly after graduation, I moved to New York City.
Through various experiences, I was able to hone my skills and I started to embrace the experiential events world and I went on to launch the Bowery Collective, an experiential events company showcasing the best alcohol spirits on the planet!

These days, you’ll find me reveling in the details and the expertise it takes to craft meaningful moments for our guests – from agave events & whiskey experiences, to uniting consumers through virtual connections.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Overdelivering on everything I do. I had a friend ask me “do you want to make money on this one event or do you want to build a reputation as someone who delivers?” He told me reputation will help you over the next decade as you scale your events. The first Arte Agave event I did, I actually lost money, but everyone that attended and every single one of my sponsors that were part of the event thanked me for the event. I knew I had something from that moment and I didn’t look for the money, I created something memorable that people wanted to be a part of. Everything that I do, I always ask myself “ Am I bringing value to my partners and guests?” If the answers is no, then I keep restructuring the experience until its a yes. I’ve now built that trust.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Covid! If you are an experimental events company that brings people together for live events, then Covid was a disaster! I noticed that during covid, everyone was putting out content about learning about Whiskey and Tequila. It was boring to me as I wanted to taste these products! I knew that brands always need to get liquid to lips- this creates sales. I reached out to all my brand contacts and asked them what was important in the virtual space? We then designed custom tasting and cocktail kits and launched all of our experiential events online via Zoom. Guests received a tasting kit and brands were able to speak and taste consumers on their product. It was magical! Imagine tasting a product for the first time and you are actually talking with the owner or Master Distiller?! This kept the company afloat and now we are doing both live and virtual experiences.

Contact Info:

• Website: bowerycollective.com
• Instagram: @bowerycollective @arteagave
• Facebook: @BoweryCollective
• Linkedin: Bowery Collective
• Twitter: @BoweryCollect
• Youtube: Bowery Collective, Arte Agave

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Ray Hamlin Events, The Cork Bros