WLM | entrepreneur
THROTTLE 2 BOTTLE –
A New Adventure
I
n the arena of Wyoming made liquors, a new player
has come to town – and they’ve already scooped
up an impressive award within their first four
months of hitting the market. Bighorn Spirits, LLC, of
Sheridan, created by Frank Maestri, is a business with a
bright future.
The liquor industry isn’t new to the Maestri family. A
native of the Bay Area in California, Frank Maestri’s
grandfather founded Frank-Lin Distillers in 1966. The
tradition continued with Frank’s father, who founded
the award-winning Casa Maestri Tequila in Mexico in
2008, and Frank’s step-brother, whose importing career
is based in Houston. To say it mildly, the Maestri family
knows how to create high quality liquor.
However, liquor isn’t the only thing central to Frank
Maestri. A long time cattle rancher, the Maestri family
has owned and sold ranches in California, Nevada,
Texas and are currently thrilled with their move to
a Sheridan area ranch. “We’ve found a home here in
Wyoming,” Frank says. While cattle ranching still
proves central to their lifestyle, Frank was ready to
tackle something new as well.
As we chatted, I discovered I had a kindred spirit in the
entrepreneurial world – an individual who wanted the
adventure of creating something new, all while staying
rooted in their current career. “I love ranching,” Frank
explained. “We’re ranchers at heart. Diversification is
awesome, and I wanted to try something new and fun
that is also something I know. I wanted something to
keep me alert and going. Now I’m waking up in the
middle of the night thinking again – I’m taking notes at
three AM!” he added with a laugh.
Oh, how I could relate. Swapping stories of the things
that keep a business owner awake at three AM, we
reaffirmed how challenging, rewarding, terrifying and
exciting entrepreneurship can be, all at once. Being
several years into entrepreneurship myself, it was
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Wyoming Lifestyle Magazine | Winter & Holiday 2016
refreshing to listen to someone just getting into the
game, and remembering how those moments of pure,
three AM adrenaline felt.
The Maestri Family has much to be excited about.
Frank launched his company four months ago with
Throttle 2 Bottle, a Canadian Whisky that captures the
spirit of adventure. “Having the freedom to throttle up
our engines to go, see and do is a blessing we should
all revel in and respect,” Frank says via his website,
throttle2bottle.com. “The sentiment behind the name is
that ‘When we are DONE with throttle we REACH for
the bottle.”
The whisky began life in stores across Wyoming;
today the company has also added Alaska, Texas, and
just released in Montana. Working hard to spread the
brand, Frank received an accolade that is perfect to
catapult his new company: a prestigious bronze medal
from Whiskies of the World. “This {award} is very
cool,” Frank says. “We were shocked.”
Along with the award comes another exciting event
for the company to wrap up 2016: the launch of their
new peppermint schnapps, Yellow Snow. “Anyone who
knows Wyoming winter gets it,” Frank adds with a
laugh. Hitting Wyoming stores in November, Yellow