We caught up with Restless Spirits’ Master Distiller Benay Shannon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Restless Spirits is a rare distillery. Tell us about how you began making Irish-style spirits in Kansas City!
When I left teaching and taught myself to be a distiller, I focused on Irish production methods – using malted barley and pot stills. My husband is Irish American, and he was able to use his heritage to really dial in a strong brand message.
We have been producing malt whiskey here at Restless Spirits Distilling for almost 8 years. Over that time American Single Malt has been accepted as an official category of whiskey. And this year (drum roll) we are releasing three expressions in the category – Straight American Single Malt, American Single Malt (Irish Style), and Double Barrel Aged American Single Malt.
Each of the spirits will be branded under the name GullyTown, a reference to the town carved on the Missouri River banks that became Kansas City. It’s so exciting and gratifying to see the results of hard work and persistence go out in a beautiful package for all whiskey fans to enjoy.
Starting a successful brand is not easy. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you apply resilience. For you, where does that come from?
I competed in an event called Cowboy Mounted Shooting, a competitive equestrian sport involving riding a horse to execute a shooting pattern. I thought it was no big deal to go back to competition after an accident during a run sent me to the hospital with cracked ribs, chipped vertebrae, and a punctured lung. I didn’t think anything of it. I was healed enough that the doctor gave me the all-clear – so I rode.
It didn’t take long to realize as I was sitting on my horse among my fellow competitors again that this was unusual. The other cowboys would tilt their head in my direction and say to each other, “She’s the one who hit the fence!” in an awed, whispered exclamation. I discovered that people expected anyone who crashed to quit. And that’s often what we all expect in professions and relationships. If you crash, you quit.
But don’t quit. If you need help, get it. Then when you get the all-clear, load your guns and get back in that saddle!
Anyone who has pushed boundaries/limits can get stuck in the tug-of-war between confidence (feeling like a success) and imposter syndrome (feeling like a fake). How do you gain confidence and avoid the imposter syndrome when you started distilling?
I first remember feeling like this in high school. I was always a motivated academic achiever. But I would sometimes convince myself it was all a sham; like my whole life was one big conspiracy to make me feel better about myself. I would imagine that in truth I was really a dunce, and everyone was in on it to fake me out. Logically I knew it was ridiculous. Why would anyone go to that much trouble? But emotions are rarely logical.
When we look around and see few if any people looking like us doing what we do, it’s harder to hold the confidence and fight the paranoia. But don’t withdraw. Reach out. You will find people like you. And you will find people who convince you that you are real.
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?
I think empathy and patience are two very important qualities that lead to success. Looking outside ourselves and trying to see and understand the world from another person’s point of view can help you move forward and make connections in any career or area of life. Practicing patience can prevent unnecessary and costly mistakes — and can keep your stress levels down!
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
There are three things I do: First, I try to spend a little, or a lot, more time alone (I am an introvert, so I am recharged by alone time and drained by social time). Next, I will do what I call a ‘brain dump.’ I try to pour everything out of my head and onto paper as a list. If I put it outside my head, I can look at it, prioritize, and chunk it up into manageable pieces. Finally, I spend more time in Psalms than in other scripture during my devotionals.
What is your current obstacle/challenge?
We’re working on regaining momentum! Launching a business is like launching a spaceship: It takes a lot of energy to achieve escape velocity and reach orbit. Once in orbit, momentum maintains the speed of the ship and the only energy needed is for course correction.
We put so much energy into launching Restless Spirits and were almost to cruising altitude when COVID sucked us back down. Regaining that momentum has been a real challenge because we used up our energy and creativity on the first burst. It requires a constant effort to attain that level of momentum. The exhaustion is real!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://restlessspiritsdistilling.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restless_distilling/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RestlessDistilling/
