Meet Wesley Panther

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Wesley Panther a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Wesley, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

My work ethic definitely starts within my genetics, but is practiced as well. My father has always had a strong work ethic, as his father before him. Especially as an independent small business owner, keeping a healthy work ethic is extremely important. It is helpful when you are passionate about your work, but this alone will not get you through efficient use of endless hours of work.

I try to make sure to switch between different tasks (production, R&D, design, sales, events, etc.) to keep my ideas fresh and to avoid burnout in one aspect or another. This allows me to get out of a rut sometimes, and tackled tasks that may have been put aside.

Exercise, a healthy diet, and sunshine are key in aiding in a healthy work ethic. While working long hours and completing multiple tasks is more rewarding for me than anything, you must balance this with a healthy lifestyle. Hard work with out a healthy balance will generally turn those endless hours of productivity into less effective, and needlessly longer days.

In the end, passion fuels my work ethic, to accomplish my dreams, and to not turn back. The fact that I have put so much work in to get to where I am now, reinforces the drive to keep pushing forward to reach my larger goals.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am founder and operator of Ancestors Distilling Ltd. With Ancestors, I strive to create unique small batch spirits with an attention to detail, whilst utilizing my unique skill sets with the support of my local community to maintain a marketing structure that is honest and personal.

I launched the first Ancestors product, our “Ancestors Gin”, at the end of 2021. Since then, Ancestors now has 6 unique offerings. “Ancestors Gin” won a double gold medal at the 2024 San Francisco world spirits, and we are now sold at over 100 locations in Colorado. I am constantly looking for ways to improve on our products, and how to reach consumers with the same passion for the products that we create. The most exciting aspect of my work is to meet strangers who share their excitement with us.

I have been infinitely grateful to have a strong community of artists, family, and friends who have gone out of their way to support the growth of Ancestors. I am hoping to evolve Ancestors into a hub for more local artists, and a home for the community to hold more events to share their passions as well.

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?

When I look back on building my skillset to open and operate Ancestors, I find my experience in bar management and graphic design to be a huge advantage. In working behind bars for over a decade, I was able to recognize trends, develop pricing structure, and further understand buyer / seller relations. My skills in graphic design have been pivotal in keeping my brand unique and inline with my vision. Marketing and design is a huge part of building a brand and identifying your personality to the public. I am very conscious of making sure that with every step of this that I am truly able to convey my intent and lifestyle within myself and brand.

Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?

My ideal client is always anyone with a sense of passion for the product that they are purchasing. Ancestors is generally not marketed to someone who is not willing to truly enjoy and appreciate the artistry that goes into artisan spirits. from packaging to palate. I thrive to sell to anyone who would generally be interested in sharing their experience with their friends, family. and guests. I am not generally for someone who wants to buy my product because it is the most affordable or easiest to obtain. A client that goes out of their way to find and appreciate my product, is truly the biggest compliment I can get as an artisan distiller.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ancestorsdistilling.com
• Instagram: @ancestorsdistilling
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ancestorsdistilling

Image Credits

Aurora Norton Photography, Ascend Creative, CB Video Marketing, Joosbox Productions