Whiskey Gap goes international

After struggling to find a distributor in the United States, Brandon Egbert took his whiskey international in hopes of attracting new clients and promoting the local product in April. Egbert, owner of Whiskey Gap Distillery, has been in business for just over a year and traveled to South Korea to meet with clients.

During his first year in business, Egbert has struggled to find a distributor for his product until just recently. He jokes he thought the most difficult part about running a distillery would be making good whiskey, but that proved to be an early success for him.

Last summer, a South Korean tour group visited a restaurant in Moses Lake where Whiskey Gap products are sold. The tour group enjoyed the gin the most, and Egbert had the opportunity to meet with the representatives at a sales conference in the following days.

The tour group leader had arranged the initial meeting between the two entities. With the positive feedback Egbert received about his product, Peterson reached out to Egbert when a promotion tour to South Korea became available.

Egbert quickly agreed to join the tour along with nine other business owners promoting a variety of items. The majority of the group traveling was from Grant County.

The group traveled to Gunpo, a sister city with Grant County. Gunpo is a city of around 300,000, and is located 45 minutes south of Seoul.

The tour to South Korea provided Egbert with an opportunity to meet with wholesalers, as well as exporters. Egbert had six meetings arranged through the South Korea Trade, with only two of the meetings being with distributers.

In preparation for the trip, Egbert had the potato gin label translated and designed in Korean. Egbert said the effort fell short with its intentions, as the label did not get designed properly, so the largest word on the label ended up being “potato” instead of gin.

Egbert said the mistake provided amusement during the meetings, and the businessmen also found humor with the label design being translated.

“They said it looked like what an old man in a rice field would drink,” Egbert said.

Egbert explained they preferred the English version because it would stand out on the shelf. Along with the gin, Egbert also took his new coffee whiskey and apple brandy.

While the representatives who had traveled to the U.S. preferred the gin, Egbert said the other two whiskies proved to be more popular during the tastings.

The meetings were conducted on the 50th floor of the Kita building, and Egbert said they had the most amazing views of the city. The group would conduct their meetings at the same time, in the same room, but spread across a large conference table.

The group traveled throughout the country with interpreters and while they spent the majority of the weeklong excursion in meetings, Egbert said they also had the opportunity to tour a portion of the country.

They visited a Buddhist temple and a palace, and were treated to authentic Korean meals during the trip. Egbert explained there were a lot of unique cuisines, and items such as squid and octopus were common.

Not being a fan of seafood, Egbert said his favorite meal proved to be Korean barbecue. They also frequented buffets, which showcased a variety of traditional foods, and ate at restaurants that prepared the food at the table.

Egbert explained the group also had the opportunity to participate in special events during their trip.

The group happened to be visited during the annual Gunpo Royal Azalea Festival. They were honored by leading a parade with the mayor of Gunpo through the streets. During this time, Egbert said they were treated like celebrities, with people waving and smiling, and multiple people running alongside to take photos.

Later that evening, the U.S. group had the opportunity to sit in the second row at a major concert for the people of Gunpo. Egbert said the group attended the concert with the mayor.

During the trip, the Grant County delegation attended a trade dinner with delegations from across the world. Egbert said the group sat in the front of the conference, and were treated with the outmost importance.

Egbert said he enjoyed the tour and the combining of two cultures. He is continuing to follow up with the interested parties he met during the trip, in hopes of exporting Whiskey Gap products to South Korea in the near future.

He also hopes to be a part of a tour group again to help promote his products on the international level. His trip to South Korea had been funded by a export voucher grant program through the state.

This month, Egbert will attend an Asian beverage export convention in Yakima. During this conference, Egbert has opportunities to meet one-on-one with potential buyers and he believes it could be an even more successful venture for his business.