As the whiskey industry continues to grow exponentially, distillers and blenders are looking at new techniques, new optimized cask-finishing processes to gain more control over specific flavors.
Anthony Moniello, co-CEO of Next Century Spirits, looked at the growth numbers in the industry, and was floored by the fact that craft spirits are expected to grow nearly $66 billion in three years.
That’s why his Next Century Spirits is enabling itself and entrepreneurs the ability to scale the amount of liquid made more quickly, and doing so while reducing the overall capital needed to start a spirit brand.
He and others like him rely on new technology to help achieve their goals. And others in the spirits industry have taken notice, as Next Century has piqued the interest of celebrity investors such as Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane with Bear Fight Whiskey, recording artist Yelawolf with Creek Water Whiskey, and golfing icon Greg Norman with Caddy Cocktails. All are tied to spirits made by Next Century.
Moniello recently visited with The Whiskey Wash about the growth in the whiskey industry and how technology plays into craft spirits’ navigation of the meteoric rise.
The Whiskey Wash: How did you get into the whiskey business, and how did you come to Next Century Spirits?
Anthony Moniello: “I began my career working in nightlife, running my own promotion company based out of Washington, DC for 10 years working with bars, clubs and restaurants to create custom events while consulting with venue partners on developing marketing plans, cost reduction, and operations.”
“I parlayed this early entrepreneurial career into the corporate world, joining Diageo, where I worked in sales and marketing overseeing brands like Tanqueray Gin, Ron Zacapa Rum, Captain Morgan, and Don Julio Tequila. After nine incredible years there, I realized that I had a hunger to develop true new-to-world innovation based on consumer trends and industry demand … from scratch.”
Trending Stories
“In 2021, I was presented the opportunity to scratch that itch and to join Next Century Spirits as the Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing and as the CEO of one of their partially owned subsidiaries, Creek Water Whiskey, which is co-owned by global recording artist Yelawolf. Shortly after my arrival, I was named Chief Commercial Officer and launched our new route-to-market division, the Next Century Brand Group, in January 2022.”
“We’ve been off to the races since then, launching a series of new brands including Caddy Clubhouse Cocktails in partnership with golf legend Greg Norman and Bear Fight American Single Malt Whiskey with the Emmy and Grammy award-winning actor, director, and producer Seth MacFarlane. We later acquired XED Beverages which brought Sesh Cocktails and Hape Seltzer into our portfolio and continue to innovate on amazing projects like Truthteller Bourbon with Fox Entertainment and with amazing founders like Body Vodka with Jilly Hendrix.”
“I was named Co-CEO of Next Century Spirits in June of 2022. Whiskey remains the most important focus for our organization as we evolve and grow, and working alongside our Master Blender and VP of Operations Nick Scarff has made this an incredible journey so far. He has been instrumental in developing our whiskey and overall spirits production, making some of the most award-winning, customized, and delicious spirits globally.”
TWW: What was the genesis for Next Century Spirits, and what is its ethos in regards to tech in the whiskey game?
Moniello: “Next Century Spirits prides itself on blending traditional spirit-making techniques with a technologically innovative process to propel the spirits industry forward. We use a patented optimized cask-finishing and filtration process that creates custom flavor profiles within our spirits. In the whiskey category and beyond, our cask-finishing and filtration process consistently adds desirable nuances to flavor profiles within the spirit itself such as fruity, sweet, nutty, spicy and oaky flavors and aromas while reducing the risk of incorporating undesirable oak tannins.”
“This essentially allows us to control the chaos within the barrel to provide a quality drinking experience for consumers on a consistent basis. Our process is meant to complement and enhance traditional whiskey making, not replace it. Our technology is best used to customize flavor profiles naturally.”
TWW: Tell us about the new, optimized cask-finishing process and what that allows for your whiskey making?
Moniello: “Traditionally, aged spirits like whiskey spend time in new or used casks in order to develop base flavors … but are often finished in secondary casks to add complexity and extract flavors from the liquid that was originally held in those barrels.”
“For example, whiskey secondarily finished in a sherry cask will likely take on sweeter or nuttier notes, whereas whiskeys aged in rum casks will take on tropical and/or fruitier notes. This secondary finishing process can take anywhere from a month to 30-plus years to complete and there are a ton of factors that go into the flavor outcome such as the quality of the cask, alcohol content, location of the finishing, temperature fluctuations, humidity, barometric pressure, and even the position of the barrel within the rick house itself.”
“Next Century Spirits takes all the secondary finish factors into account and controls them in a patented system to maintain optimal conditions and achieve desired flavor profiles faster than anyone else in the industry. By optimizing the secondary finishing process, we reduce the total number of casks required while also saving the total amount of time to pull the desired flavors out. The process itself is natural and requires no additives, flavors or other non-traditional components.”
“Our process ultimately optimizes the finishing conditions to control the chaos inside the barrel that’s normally out of the maker’s control. This allows us to have more autonomy over developing flavor profiles and consistency batch to batch, while also minimizing the need for stocks of barrels to blend. On the business side, our optimized cask-finishing and filtration process reduces the cost needed to purchase barrels while also saving on angel’s share and provides more speed to market.”
TWW: What is the alchemy behind your whiskey making?
Nick Scarff, Next Century’s Master Blender and VP of Business Development: “While our specific methods and processes may have taken years to develop and refine, our approach is simple … you can only control as much of the whiskey-making process as you understand.”
“By carefully selecting our distillates, casks, and other materials, we ensure that we begin with strong base distillates that build the foundation of our products. By meticulously controlling the aging and finishing conditions, we can then coax our whiskies, rums, brandies, tequilas, and other aged spirits into developing the most robust, desirable flavors possible.”
“Everything looks like alchemy until you take the time to really understand how a spirit is maturing and evolving. You need to know when to give the distillate a gentle push and when to give it a shove.”
TWW: What does it mean to you, blending technology with tradition in whiskey making?
Moniello: “At Next Century Spirits, we honor traditional whiskey-making methods from the grain preparation, mashing, fermentation, and distillation parts of the process the same way as any other traditional whiskey brands have for hundreds of years.”
“We see opportunities to make the whiskey industry more sustainable and cost-effective through technological advancements within the aging and finishing process to empower whiskey makers and entrepreneurs to have more control over desired flavor outcomes and react faster to consumers’ ever-evolving palates with speed.”
“We believe our process is an evolution in the whiskey-making process built on the foundation distillers have created over years of trial and error, craftsmanship, and dedication.”
TWW: How has celebrity collaboration been a hallmark for Next Century Spirits?
Moniello: “As a startup spirits producer, our celebrity partnerships have helped advance our portfolio’s overall visibility … raising awareness of our products in a more cost-efficient way. We know our products are great, we just need people to know about them and try them!”
“All our celebrity collaborations have an equity stake and allow them to be part owners and true collaborators, which allows us to work with them more intimately as partners versus leveraging them for marketing purposes only. In practice, all our partners have been incredible to work with, and understand the hard work and dedication that goes into creating an amazing brand.”
“Seth MacFarlane has an equity stake in Bear Fight and has also signed on to be the brand’s chief storyteller and will help define the brand’s unique tone of voice from a creative standpoint through all his creative channels.”
“Global recording artist and designer Yelawolf is a founder and equity partner in Creek Water Whiskey. His vision comes to life in Creek Water from label and bottle design, to liquid composition, to our marketing styles. Most recently, he designed the ultra-premium, Limited Edition Creek Water “Sometimes Y” 18-year-old rye whiskey packaging that launched in unison with his like-named album collaboration with Scooter Jennings.”
“Caddy Cocktails are vodka-based canned cocktails presented by Greg Norman who as an equity partner has opened up doors across the golf landscape and allowed our Transfusion and Half & Half cocktails to authentically become a part of his life on social media, at events, and in his network.”
TWW: Where do you see the growth in this industry, and how is Next Century prepared for it?
Moniello: “The growth of the industry will continue to be driven by consumer demands for customized, premium spirits. To us, that means reacting to consumer trends as they are happening and meeting consumers at a point of purchase that they are most comfortable with. If we can deliver flavor outcomes within our process itself in a more sustainable way from both an economic and environmental lens, we’ll be well positioned.”
“Next Century Spirits is prepared to leverage its patented technological cask-finishing and filtration advancements to make quality spirits that meet consumers’ needs with more speed, while also reducing the number of barrels needed to create flavors and mitigating costs associated with buying and storing barrels.”
“As far as product categories, we are firmly in the middle of the tequila boom, and if we learned anything from the bourbon boom, we will start to see tequila-like products form the next phase of growth. Think agave-based spirits from alternative regions, continued expansion in mezcal, and expanded agave-based RTDs. In the long run, who knows what will be next! All we can confirm is that consumer trends are happening in shorter cycles, and we all need to be ready to capitalize at pace and with quality top of mind.”
TWW: If you had a crystal ball, what would you see for whiskey enthusiasts in the next 25 years?
Nick Scarff: “Brand loyalty is changing and people are looking for a combination of authenticity and excitement. There are only so many varieties of corn, wheat, rye, and malted barley out there, and only so many ways you can mash or distill it, so cask-finishing is going to drive the next wave of whiskey innovation.”
“It’s the obvious unexplored territory for incorporating new and interesting flavors. There is also a push for sustainable approaches to spirits making, so I also expect to see the integration of barrel technology and green-energy-driven processes for making both the alcohol itself and the packaging it comes in.”
Latest News