David Steven Pickerell (August 14, 1956 – November 1, 2018) was an American

distiller Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

. He was considered the "

Johnny Appleseed Johnny Appleseed (born John Chapman; September 26, 1774March 18, 1845) was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced trees grown with apple seeds (as opposed to trees grown with grafting) to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, I ...

" or "founding father" of craft distilling.

Early life and education

Pickerell was born on August 14, 1956, in

Fairborn, Ohio Fairborn is a city in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 34,620 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Dayton and part of the Dayton metropolitan area. The city is home to Wright State University, which serves nearly 12,000 und ...

. His father, Richard Pickerell, was a postmaster. He attended the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

at West Point from 1974 to 1978, where he earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in chemistry. He played on the

1974 Army Cadets football team Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

his freshman year. After graduating, he served 11 years in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He received a master's degree in chemical engineering from the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

while in the army.

Career

After leaving the army in 1989, Pickerell became a chemical engineer and distilling consultant at Ro-Tech in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. In 1994, he joined

Maker's Mark Maker's Mark is a small-batch bourbon whisky produced in Loretto, Kentucky, by Suntory Global Spirits. It is bottled at 90 U.S. proof (45% alcohol by volume) and sold in squarish bottles sealed with red wax. The distillery offers tours, and ...

bourbon as a corporate vice president and master distiller and was with the company for 14 years. Over Pickerell's 14 years at Maker's Mark, annual sales increased from 175,000 cases to nearly one million. After leaving Maker's Mark, he established a consulting firm called Oak View Spirits, where he advised over 100 other distilleries. His wide-ranging influence in the industry earned him the sobriquets "Founding Father of the Craft Distilling Movement" and the "

" of craft distilling. He worked with WhistlePig, a small manufacturer of

rye whiskey Rye whiskey can refer to two different, but related, types of whiskey: * American rye whiskey, which is similar to bourbon whiskey, but must be distilled from at least 51 percent rye grain * Canadian whisky, which is often referred to as (and of ...

, and was part of the group that restored

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

's distillery in Mount Vernon, Virginia. Other distilleries he worked with include

Watershed Distillery Watershed Distillery is a microdistillery in Columbus, Ohio, United States, founded in 2010 by business partners Greg Lehman and Dave Rigo. The distillery was the second distillery opened in Central Ohio after prohibition, and Watershed brought ...

, Copper Fox Distillery, J. Rieger & Co., and

Garrison Brothers Distillery Garrison Brothers Distillery is a distillery in Hye, Texas. The distillery produces Texas Straight Bourbon, as well as some experimental variants. In 2006, the distillery was granted the first stiller's permit for bourbon outside of Kentucky and T ...

. In 2010, Pickerell became involved with Hillrock Estate Distillery in New York's

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

region, where h
served as Master Distiller
until his death. In 2018, he worked with metal band

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

to release a product called Blackened American Whiskey. The aging process includes the application of low-frequency sound waves to the brew which broadcast the band's songs. According to the band, each run of 5,000 bottles has a different playlist.

Personal life

Pickerell married Jeannette Harvie, with whom he had four children. He died of hypertensive heart failure on November 1, 2018, in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, California.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pickerell, Dave 1956 births 2018 deaths American drink distillers People from Fairborn, Ohio United States Military Academy alumni University of Louisville alumni Military personnel from Ohio American chemical engineers