I met Rachel at on of our events, and started following her in the beginning of the year. Not only is a she a freaking smoke show, (yea i said it ) she was just recently promoted to President of Lockhouse distillery! Congrats to her and thanks to her for the tid bit on Adolfs ( her favorite wing place). Read more of her story below!
Follow her @Lockhousedist on IG
<3 - Danielle
What made you start or brought you where you are today ? Tell us your Story. What makes you a Buffalo Boss Babe?
So I have a very extensive background in distiller spirits and have always found a love for it (outside of drinking, I promise lol). I have been working as a sales rep for the past several years and was with a national distillery called Devils River whiskey pre pandemic, well when covid hit I was furloughed and honestly devastated. That job was my entire life, I really felt like I was empty without it. I ended up swinging a new job with a smaller distillery called Iron Smoke and finally felt purpose again, but i wanted more. I wanted to be in charge and not a sales rep. As fate would have it, i was sent a message from Lockhouse distillery that they were looking to hire a director of business and really a manager for everything internal and i knew after meeting with the partners, this was the place for me. Day to day i do a lot more then just sell, I over see all of the operations of the distillery, i am in constant communication with our multiple distributors and really handle everything outside of distilling. This position was really a director, it's fun to say as a thirty something year old woman I run a distillery. This has always been a dream of mine and I knew I would stop at nothing till i got there and well, here i am! Hard work and dedication is really what makes me a boss babe, ambition and determination, i refuse to let anything stand in the way of my success with LH.
Who are your favorite people to follow ?
Ok so this is going to sound a little silly but two of my favorite people to follow on the socials is my spin instructor MK @MK_6ftsunshine and my functional training instructor Brandi @Bschmiedicker. Both are such wonderful and resilient woman, they push me day by day. MK is one of the most positive and uplifting humans I have ever met in my life, in her classes she holds "moving meditation" and reminds us all how powerful and unique we all are, she has taught me so much self love and it really translates to her page. Brandi, where can i start with her? Her socials really take you on her fitness journey, her struggles with surgery and her everyday love for those in her life. She shares how hard it was to have to reschedule her wedding and her love for animals (ALL rescues), how much we laugh in her class (even if sometimes she lies) and her stories are just nothing but positivity. I wake up daily grateful to not only follow these two, but to have them in my life.
What are your favorite things to do in the area ? Buffalo and greater WNY
I also love checking out new bars and the local cocktail scene, I feel it not only keeps me social but also to check out what's going on in my direct industry. One of my new favorite cocktails (not new but is really on the up and up) is the espresso martini, since LH makes a coffee liqueur, i love checking out places who serve them and to get ideas for how i can help elevate LH and their cocktail game!
Tell us about your favorite collaboration or dream collaborations ?
Ohhhh this is a toughy! So i am totally obsessed with this page on IG called @join_Jules. She makes the coolest and the most amazing looking cocktails and has a love for coffee! I did send her a few bottles of lockhouse SO fingers crossed!!!
If you could have coffee with anyone in the world who would it be?
So i am a HUGE bourbon nerd and obsessed with a podcast called bourbon pursuit. Its really all things bourbon and news in the industry and such. The guys on the show are amazing and so knowledgeable so i would love to grab coffee with Kenny and just pick his brain about 200 things!
What are your hopes, dreams, goals. Big or small?
I really hope and dream to take LH to a national level. I see so much potential and I know we can be there, persistence is key and we have what it takes. I have been working towards expanding into other states and it has been going amazing, I cannot wait to see where we are in the next 5 years.
Tell us about your family?
My mom is my entire life, I love her so much and she raised me as a single parent. She's so strong and amazing and raised myself and my sister to be independent and to never give up on our dreams. My sister is also amazing, she's a nurse at Buffalo General and absolutely is a hero. I love them both more than words could ever describe.
FEEL GOOD FAVORITES
Restaurant in Buffalo: I am going to have to go with Lucky Day
Color: Purple
Super Power: I'm never tired, that's a superpower right? lol
Animal : Cat
Season of the year: HALLOWEEN - yes it is it's own season.
Favorite thing about Buffalo / WNY: Obviously the wings lol kidding, kind of - I love how welcoming it is and how we have so much pride in the city around the city. It's a good feeling.
