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

distiller Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heatin ...

. He was considered the "

Johnny Appleseed John Chapman (September 26, 1774March 18, 1845), better known as Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Ontario, as well as the northern coun ...

" 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. Fairborn is a suburb of Dayton, and part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the only city in the world named Fairborn, a port ...

. His father, Richard Pickerell, was a postmaster. Dave Pickerell US Whiskey in South Africa (26478470126)

He attended the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

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

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

in chemistry. He played on the 1974 Army Cadets football team his freshman year. After graduating, he served 11 years in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

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

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

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 largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. In 1994, he joined

Maker's Mark Maker's Mark is a small-batch bourbon whisky produced in Loretto, Kentucky, by Beam Suntory. 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 is part of ...

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 ...

, and was part of the group that restored

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

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

Watershed Distillery Watershed Distillery is a microdistillery in Columbus, Ohio 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 to market the fir ...

, 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 2018, he worked with metal band

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/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 (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, 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