​Then…

For nearly 15 years Jason Ducharme has worked in various bars and restaurants, learning the ins and outs of almost every job position imaginable both front and back of house. In 2007, with a passion for the industry and a desire to continue honing his skills, Jason made the move to Austin, Texas. At the time the Austin bartending scene was growing as local mixologists began pushing the envelope and became as Jason called them, ‘superstars of the liquid world.’

“Bartending had become something you could really make a career out of rather than it just being a part time job during college,” Jason said. “As a bartender you need to be versed in all styles and types of alcohol and ingredients so you can guide the customer. Joining the scene in Austin allowed me to further develop these skills which I still use today in my role at Deep Eddy.”

When Jason first met the Deep Eddy team he was working as a bartender at a small local restaurant in Downtown Austin. He began exploring options for a second job and came across a job listing for the Deep Eddy Tasting Room. Knowing the concept of breweries, tasting rooms, and distilleries was on the verge of a boom, he applied for the position to get his foot in the door. He met with Tracy Beecham for an interview and was hired as a part time bartender at the Tasting Room.

“I was fascinated by the concept of tasting rooms and breweries where customers could sit down with experts on a certain type of spirit and learn about the different nuances of the product,” Jason said. “As a bartender it was cool to be able to promote these types of places to give customers an immersive experience that they may not have had before. It was something newer to the industry and it was on everyone’s radar but there wasn’t as much availability.”

After working part time in the tasting room for a while, Jason became the bar manager. In this role he focused on learning everything he could about Deep Eddy products eventually becoming the cocktail developer and creating the Dive In to Mixology program teaching customers how to develop unique vodka cocktails. Before joining the Deep Eddy processing department, Jason moved to Australia for a year where he worked in a brewery learning the process behind product development and further honing his skills.

“My goal with this program was to show people the versatility of vodka beyond your typical vodka soda and really promote the versatility of the product.” Jason said.

And Now…

Jason now serves as the Processing Lead on the Deep Eddy product development team. In this role he is able to exercise his creativity developing different flavor options for both national release and to be served exclusively in the Tasting Room. This process requires him to be part mixologist, part distiller and part chef to create flavors that are interesting, complex, and most importantly delicious. He says in order to develop these different flavors he must immerse himself in inspiration every second of the day.

“I really immerse myself in getting to know new products and processes so that when the time comes to explain what I was trying to accomplish I can share what inspired me and the history behind what I have created,” Jason said. “It’s important for me to learn as much as I can about the ingredients I am using in each product. For example, we may visit the farm where some of the ingredients were sourced and meet the people who grew them so that we can allow the ingredients to speak for themselves.”

According to Jason, the flavor development process is always different. Certain ingredients or recipes may look unappealing after going through the distillation process with ethanol and water. However, once the process is complete a delicious product can come from something that was questionable to start. There are also times that ingredients may yield a flavor that you would not typically expect. For example, in the process of developing the Island Banana flavor, Jason discovered that using black sesame seeds created a peanut butter aroma and flavor that works perfectly as a compliment to the banana notes in the product. As the sesame seeds went through the distillation process, notes of peanut flavor developed that were not present when the same process was performed on actual peanuts. He also loves to experiment with unique forms of production. One of his favorite creations to date was a coconut vodka which he aged inside an actual coconut. The coconut milk was dumped and replaced with the ingredients to make vodka, then it was placed in the hot Texas sun to draw out the flavor.

“I never want to do something that has been done before – outside the box is always best,” he said. “We’re able to use the tasting room as a sort of cutting room floor where we can get really creative, test products, and give consumers a voice in our product development process. Whether or not the product ever sees the light of day, we want the people to join us on this journey and be part of the reason certain flavors become huge products.”

Jason says his favorite national Deep Eddy product to develop was the Lemon flavor. He loves the crisp flavor and versatility of the product. As for experimental and tasting room only products, Jason says aside from the coconut which he is very proud of, the pepperoni pizza flavor they created was delicious in a bloody mary.

“I love the people I work with and the support I receive from everyone at Deep Eddy,” Jason said. “I don’t think I would have gotten this far without their support and assistance as I grow in this role. At the end of the day it’s not my pallet that I’m trying to please, it’s everyone’s. I have a great support system of people who are excited about this process and giving feedback on the products I’m developing.”

Heaven Hill and Deep Eddy Vodka are proud to have Jason as part of the family. His dedication, innovative spirit, and out of the box ideas perfectly encompass the company values of Continuous Improvement, Passionately Committed to Excellence, and Customer Focused. ​