VCU news

By Conor Lobb

David Cuttino believes he has just enough business knowledge to be a successful entrepreneur.

“Enough to be dangerous,” said Cuttino, co-founder and general manager of Reservoir Distillery.

Cuttino delivered the first Ten-Ten talk of the semester on Wednesday. The Ten-Ten Talk speaker series gives dedicated, creative entrepreneurs a platform to share their real-world knowledge with faculty, staff and students. Presented by the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business, the talks take place in the Snead Hall Atrium. Cuttino spoke about his nearly 10 years in the distillery business, reflecting on some of the success Reservoir Distillery has enjoyed since its 2008 founding.

To learn how to distill enough bourbon to start a business, Cuttino wrote a letter to Tuthilltown Spirits, a New York distillery, offering to work for free for nine months to learn the ins and outs of the process.

Armed with knowledge, techniques and practice, Cuttino and Reservoir co-founder Jay Carpenter submitted their American Straight Rye Whiskey to the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2012. At the time, Cuttino and Carpenter were the only employees at Reservoir Distillery and made the batch themselves. The pair took home the Double Gold Award, beating out some of the multinational, multibillion dollar companies that dominate the whiskey and bourbon industries, Cuttino said.

Cuttino recalls with a sense of accomplishment how he and Carpenter dealt with bourbon-making experts trying to force their opinions on distilling techniques during Reservoir’s early years.

“You’re the one in the trenches,” Cuttino said. “You’re the one that’s doing this stuff. You’ve got to trust your own judgment. There are a million different ways to do this.”

After his talk, Cuttino answered questions from the crowd for about 20 minutes. Attendees were curious about how Cuttino effectively markets and sells an expensive whiskey in a market flooded with craft beers and other high-priced, better-known liquor brands.

“I would say 95 percent of our customers are return customers,” Cuttino said. “Craft is becoming synonymous with overpriced and ‘not good.’ We have to do a lot of work to show the integrity of our brand.”

Cuttino also discussed Prohibition, how Reservoir Distillery sources its own wood for its barrels, and what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

“This is a life job. I’m here 70 to 80 hours per week,” Cuttino said. “The only time I take off is for my kids. You’ve got to take time for family.”

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