SUMMARY

A WoodCraft Bourbon Blender franchise helps you make more money from your tasting room. It’s a complete business system, that allows you to offer made-to-order bourbon whiskey just like in the 1800s.  The system is powered by patent pending technologies, for consumer blending, custom bottle filling, labeling and marketing of the experiences. 

Custom Bourbon Experiences in Three Ways

1) Live Experiences onsite and offsite

2) Home Party Kits

3) Internet “Bourbon Wizard” Experiences.

After creating their bourbon, customers become members of the WoodCraft Custom Bourbon Club and can order a bottle of their custom bourbon. Secondary offerings include: Custom Cocktail Experiences delivered both in-person and through Home Party Kits.  Super Premium and Luxury Bourbons. 

Back to The Golden Age of Bourbon

WoodCraft Bourbon Blender is a trip back to the golden age of American Bourbon and Cocktails.  It’s the the time before the birth of “Mega Brands” – a time when every whiskey lover, bartender, restaurant owner and bride and groom had their own personal bourbon. 

As an example, in Cincinnati during the 1800s there were 75 whiskey merchants who would blend your bourbon to your tastes from their collections of barrels.   The same was true on Whiskey Row in Louisville.  The story was the same In Scotland where John Walker (of Johnnie Walker fame) and others were also blending and selling made to order whiskies.   

We focus on WoodCraft Finishing because it’s well known that at least 70% of the flavor of whiskey comes from wood.   The use of unique woods such as apple, maple, 200 year oak, etc. creates a collection of whiskies with flavors that are consumer noticeably different.  These unique flavors enable the WoodCraft Bourbon Blender experiences. 

Two Options for Franchising – depending on your situation

FRACTIONAL FRANCHISE – This collaboration is best for existing craft distilleries, breweries and wineries looking to grow the sales and profits of their tasting room through custom bourbon experiences and products.  Most important of all the Fractional Franchise is designed to BUILD YOUR BRAND with WoodCraft being a non-intrusive collaboration source mark on the back of packaging.  

FLAGSHIP FRANCHISE – This is best for those who want to bring a meaningfully unique, high margin – custom bourbon experience to  a high consumer traffic location.  As a Flagship you get to use the WoodCraft brand name as your primary branding with your City added to it.

The Secret is Never Ending Improvement of Operational Systems 

A relatively low initial investment (1% to 20% of the cost of a classic distillery) and motivation to work hard can give you the keys to realize your dreams. 

We provide you what you need to launch – and build/grow – your business.  The WoodCraft products are made possible through a collection of trade secrets and proprietary (i.e., patented and patent pending) processes, equipment and or products that include:

• World Class Blending Bourbons and Whiskies: You have access to virtually unlimited supplies of world class bourbon & whiskies without massive investments of capital and time in distilling equipment, raw materials and aging facilities. Connoisseurs agree on the world class quality: at the Ultimate Spirit Challenge (one of the industries most respected international competitions) WoodCraft Bourbon finished with 200 Year Oak scored an outstanding rating of 95, European Oak 92, American Oak 89, Cherry Wood 92, Maple Wood 95 and Smoked Oak 92. These spirits are made possible through WoodCraft Finishing by authorized suppliers. 
• WoodCraft Custom Bourbon Blending – THREE WAYS:  To maximize your potential for sales you can offer Custom Bourbon three ways: 1) LIVE EXPERIENCES where consumers are guided through the blending process, 2) HOME KITS with video support that consumers can do on their own and 3) INTERNET BOURBON WIZARD is a smart algorithm that enables consumers to be able to create their own bourbon by simply answering a set of questions on what tastes they like and don’t like.  The systems include operational methods for fast turn of customers and live experiences, presentation materials, blending mats, blending journals and methods that make it easy for everyone to create their own bourbon. 
• WoodCraft Micro-Bourbon Blending Ladles & Custom Cocktail Ladles:  To maximize custom whiskey and cocktail quality while at the same time reducing operational costs Micro-Blending ladles make it easy for consumers to be able to quickly and accurately create their custom bourbon blends using 1 ml and 1/2 ml increments for a total of about 5 ml of liquid.  The proprietary design makes it easy to measure small volumes accurately and at lower cost.  The Custom Cocktail version of these ladles makes it possible for consumers to create multiple versions of cocktails very fast and accurately as well.   The measures are designed to be one tenth of a normal measure i.e. .2 oz versus 2 ounces, .05 versus 1/2 oz, .075 versus 3/4 oz and .1 tsp versus 1 teaspoon. This enables the WoodCraft Custom Cocktail experiences and kits. 
• WoodCraft Custom Cocktails – TWO WAYS:  To maximize your potential for sales you can also offer Custom Cocktails two ways: 1) LIVE EXPERIENCES where consumers are guided through the custom cocktail process and 2) HOME PARTY KITS with video support that consumers can do on their own. The systems include operational methods for fast turn of customers and live experiences, presentation materials, Blending Mats, Blending Journals and methods that make the process easy for everyone to create their own custom cocktails. 
• WoodCraft Blending Machine: This proprietary machine blends a bottle of customer bourbon in seconds versus about 15 minutes with the manual “weigh and blend” industry method.   The machine can also be set to pour a “shot” of a custom bourbon for your Bourbon Wizard customers who seek to taste their Bourbon Wizard custom bourbon before purchasing a bottle.  The machine utilizes technology developed for the pharmaceutical industry for precise measurements. 
• WoodCraft Blending Software: This proprietary software: 1) Enables Operational efficiency, 2) Provides Marketing support and 3) Provides Financial accounting support.    It’s a complete system that enables consumers to: a) Enter their Custom Bourbon Recipe and the name they want on the bottle,  b) view automated tasting notes and a custom cocktail recipe for their custom bourbon, c) Allow the consumer to be able to pay for their custom bottle on line without going through a check out line, d) create and print a custom label with a QR code on the back of the label, d) allow the operator of the Blending Machine to be able to scan the QR code and automatically fill the bottle with the proper blend, e) Provide consumers with the ability to scan the QR code on the back of their bottle to place reorders and f) Provide a dashboard for tracking purchases and sales in total and for each customer. 
• Training & Support:  Beyond the specific technologies, products and systems detailed above you will be receiving support that includes: 1) Marketing assets and systems for selling new customers via the internet and in person, 2) Training in the systems and the mindset of never ending improvement that is key to success, 3) guidance in navigating the TTB regulatory maze for filing of COLA and Labels, 4) Expertise on working with on premise (bars & restaurants) as well as off premise (retail stores), 5) Expertise on specialty marketing programs for wedding whiskey and private events, 6) suggestions and designs for t-shirts, tasting glasses, etc. and 7) Expertise on software reservation systems and email follow ups.

Ideal Candidates  – for the two WoodCraft Bourbon Blender franchise options

Fractional Franchisees: 

• You have a craft distillery, brewery or winery that you are looking to grow in addition to your existing business through collaboration.  You understand that the business model of the Scotch Whiskey industry is 80%+ blends (that are often bought or traded for) and less than 20% Single Malt Scotch made in-house. Scotch Blends and WoodCraft Bourbon Blending products open up new customers and markets for you.     
• You have a balanced mindset towards – the ART & BUSINESS of craft alcohol.  You love bringing your artisan products to consumers but at the same time you are just as passionate about creating a business that generates a high return on your investment of time, energy and money in your business.  
• You are committed to having more personal FREEDOM as a leader/owner through the application of disciplined and reliable work systems.  When you sign up for a franchise you become part of a community of like minded craft artisans who are committed to never ending improvement of reliable systems that make your life easier.  

Flagship Franchisees: 

• You have a real passion for educating & entertaining bourbon lovers.  You have a real love for Bourbon and Bourbon Cocktails.  You are passionate about storytelling and product nuances that separate Super Premium Bourbon from low price products.  You also believe in the growth potential of American Whiskey and in particular Bourbon.   Research & Market forecasts that the overall American whiskey market is expected grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 9.9% to reach $16.8 billion by 2025.
• You love businesses that are EXPERIENCE focused:  You have a real appreciation  love participating in and delivering new experiences.  You believe that adult beverage experiences is on trend and offers profit potential.  A focus on providing “experiences” aligns with the Experience Economy trend first identified by the Harvard Business Review.  The value of experiences as a business model was documented in a recent Forbes article that stated, in relevant part, as follows:“80% of customers say they are more likely to do business with a company if it offers personalized experiences…. Companies that lead in customer experience outperform laggards by nearly 80%.”  Profit margins may also be higher for experiences because in most locations state and federal taxes on experiences are a fraction of what they are on bottles of bourbon.
• You believe in the power of WORK SYSTEMS to drive sales and profits.  For your Bourbon Business you prefer to join a community of like minded business people who are committed to never ending improvements of reliable systems that make your business more successful. 

Think you may be a good fit as a WoodCraft Franchise Owner?