We recently connected with Trea Feist and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Trea with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
This is a question I get asked often and my same answer is I was blessed to have a competitive side for success, serious drive and motivation which I used through my military training that taught me to bust your ass in all that you do and never give up, amongst very many other things in life I came to realize later on.
My time in the US Army taught me leadership skills that I did not realize I actually had until about 3 years later when I started managing bars and restaurants.
I had always used my hardcore work ethic going into the military to working my way up the chain in the food and beverage industry. I went from a drink runner at the age of 21, to a bar back then bar back manager and finally made it to a bartender at the age of 24 and was managing a year and a half after that.
But everything boils back to the drive and motivation factor of wanting the freedom to make a dream come true and having the guts to just jump off that cliff and let God guide you.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I own and sell The Best Vodka on The Planet, Dank Vodka, The Worlds First Terpene Liquor Brand based in Waxahachie, Tx.
Fun fact on me, before I tell you what Terpenes are, is that I am not a vodka drinker, Yup I said it, I own a vodka brand and do not like vodka. I drink Bourbon, Tequila, Mezcal, Scotch, Rum & Gin but I like my liquor on the rocks or neat and simply did not have a vodka that I could enjoy by itself.
I have never been a big fan of vodka due to the grainy odors and tastes, so I wanted to go against what everyone else was doing, and do something different. I wanted tot take alcohol back to the old school days where vodka was truly odorless and flavorless and change the status quo for how vodka is made.
I have never had a vodka I could sip, on the rocks with no lemon or lime, and actually enjoy, until now. Dank Vodka is THE true sipping vodka!
I say this due to our process described below and our World Original Lemon Haze Terpenes.
So You have hear me say terpenes a couple times now and you’re probably wondering what they are or going to https://www.dankspirits.com/what-are-terpenes to find out. But they are the zest in citrus fruits, in all essential oils, they are aromatic, flavorful and naturally sweet so Dank has ZERO added sugars or by-products.
Terpenes are the most versatile compounds on the planet and you experience with them every day, smelling flowers or cut grass, pine trees, cooking products, skincare products and over 20,000 other different products even from wine and beer, but no one had ever decided to put them into liquor, so this was my niche.
We use a Terpene called Lemon Haze which is a combination of citrus notes including lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange and tangerine. Everyones palate is different and Terpenes conform to your palate. This is why people can taste different notes in the same bottle of red wine, Terpenes are in the Tannins of red wine, one of the reasons a glass of red wine a day is good for you. I am not saying a glass of Dank a Day Keeps The Doctor Away haha! But I am saying it is better to drink Terpenes rather than sugars, citric acids and other “natural flavors”.
But having the array of different citrus notes and everyones palate being differet, I have gotten people who taste strait lemon; taste strait orange; taste strait grapefruit; taste strait lime; taste fruity pebbles. This is awesome because the people who taste these notes like those flavors in other meals and daily eatings. I have never gotten anyone who tasted a citrus note and didn’t like the citrus itself.
Now our distillation process is very unique as well we keep certain things proprietary but what I can tell you is we talk pride in our batches and I am about quality Dank Vodka is a corn base that is carbon filtered, distilled 6x then distilled over and over for 4 hours pulling out grain impurities that most other brands leave in. This process makes Dank silky and extremely smooth, more smooth than any other vodka on the market.
Dank is your new True Premium Vodka made for the higher times in life and has received Gold Medals a the 2020 USA Spirits Ratings and the 2022 SIP Awards. Making Dank the Most Awarded Terpene Vodka!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Learning to fend for myself at a young age: This taught me to be independent from early adulthood and learn to find my faith and path in life, some of us that were a little bit more troubled at a younger age need to be tested a little more than others before we are trusted with the reigns to run your own destiny and give hope to others.
Failing at almost every job I had:
I love this part of my life, YES it is true you have to fail in order to succeed you are going to take 100 steps forward and fall back 200 times. Until I finally found my path I failed a ton, and I still do but I never let a failure set me back. Failures are meant to motivate you to do better, to not fail in that way again and use it to drive you forward with more energy!
One of my favorite quotes by a extremely smart man that I look up to greatly by the name of Ryan Stewman once said “Every quarterback always takes a few steps back before he throws his Hail Mary”. So are you taking a few steps back in life and your career right now? Don’t let it get you down, use it as momentum to go forward and throw that Hail Mary for a TouchDown
Keeping my focus on where I see myself 15-20 years from now:
You have to have a dream and an end goal to what you are doing, at least I believe so. Most people wasn’t to be entrepreneurs until they die, but me, I have an end goal and it’s activities line up with Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffet’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere.
Whats your reason for breaking or wanting to brak the chain of employment and start making money work for you?
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always looking for well owned and operated bar and restaurants to partner with in order to spread the Dank as well as retailers to expand our reach to the DFW community.
Dank is so versatile it can be used in Margarita’s or as we call them, Dankarita’s.
Dank make the best Mojito you will ever have.
We have won Best Negroni
We have even made a Dank Old Fashioned using celery bitters and a fennel cordial.
No matter what style bar you have Dank can fit in, vodka soda’s all day as well as vodka tonic (which tastes Identical to sprite!)
Dank is exceptional in ginger ale, cranberry and even in water without a lemon or a lime it just taste like citrus water.
With hot water Dank tastes like Saki.
No matter if you are a Mixology cocktail bar, golf course, dive bar, cocktail lounge, sushi bar or steak house… Dank can fit right in at your establishment and we already do at hundreds across DFW & Texas.
The easiest way to order Dank into your establishment would be to email [email protected] where we can get back with you almost instantly, unless it is after operating hours.
I hope to hear from you folks and look forward to Danking it up with you as well!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dankspirits.com
- Instagram: @dankvodka @ceo.dankspirits
- Facebook: @dankvodka @treadankfeist
- Linkedin: @dankvodka @Treafeist
- Twitter: @dankvodka
- Youtube: @dankvodka
- Other: World Original Terpene Vodka Veteran Owned Award Winning Find retailers at www.dankspirits.com/locations #DankResponsibly
