Susan Caron and Alane Wilansky Are Longtime Friends, Coworkers and ARK Distillery CoFounders

Susan Caron blames Alane Wilansky. And Alane proudly accepts the blame for leading the two friends into the role of distillery co-founders. As far as Susan is concerned, “I wouldn't take anybody else to do it with, I got to be honest.”

Before they jumped into the bourbon business, Susan and Alane were in the cat collar business. The longtime coworkers, friends and cofounders built a very pet-friendly company then they set out to create a spirited distillery.

ARK Distillery in Colchester, Connecticut — set to open July of 2024 — represents the friends’ passion in bourbon but also their love for animals and their communities. In fact, the name stands for “Acts of Random Kindness.”

Coworkers to Friends

The roots of the business go back almost two decades. After Susan graduated with a degree in hospitality, she followed a path that took her to a finance job. One that would ultimately take her and Alane into the spirits industry.

Nineteen years ago, the future co-founders met when Alane hired Susan for a role in the finance industry. The two worked alongside each other managing accounts until Alane took off for the insurance industry. But they remained friends.

“We wanted to see each other so we decided to have this craft business together so that, once a month we would at least see each other, make our crafts,” Susan said. “We make cat collars and things like that that are animal oriented.”

Together the two designed pet-friendly crafts continue to meet each month even as the pandemic shut everything down around them. In the midst of Covid, another business idea emerged.

“Alane came over my house one day during COVID,” Susan recalled. “She came over and she said, ‘I know what we should do.’ And I said, ‘What is it?’ And she said, ‘We should open a distillery.’ And I said, ‘That is a fantastic plan.’”

For Alane, the interest in liquor began with her family. “My grandmother and grandfather always had a tradition,” she explained. “Every day at four o'clock, they would sit down and have a little card table. On the card table, they would have manhatans and wine, cheese and crackers.”

“Since then, my grandmother has passed, unfortunately,” Alane continued. “They always called her Manhattan Mary. I've always just loved the fun of making drinks and alcohol and all of the neat things that you can do, especially with infusion.”

So that day when Alane arrived at Susan’s house to share her big plan, she was thinking of how the two could infuse flavors into spirits and try something new. “That's really interesting and exciting to me,” Alane admitted. “Trying new ways to have something that's been around for hundreds of years.”

Friends to Co-Founders

That night, over cat collar crafts, the concept for ARK Distillery came to be. The animal-loving friends had two inspirations for the name of their business. First, it called to mind the story of Noah’s Ark with all those animals, which carried two of each animal. Second, it represented their dedication to spreading kindness.

“We like to give back to the community,” Susan explained. “So we also liked Acts of Random Kindness. That's what the A.R.K. actually stands for.”

Part of the distillery’s mission is to support the community. Often, that means contributing to animal-friendly organizations but the co-founders feel passionate about any local groups doing good for the neighborhood.

Before jumping into the industry, the pair spent a year researching what it takes to craft a quality craft spirit. But soon they were ready to move forward, wiser than they had been when they were still creating pet-friendly products.

The venture started with the right team. Susan and Alane put a lot of thought and consideration into who would be the consultants and vendors they worked with day in and day out. Once they had the right team around them, they could move forward, grow and find success in creating flavor-infused spirits.

As far as products, the distillery finishes spirits in its still, infusing vodka, gins, whiskeys and, particularly, bourbons with flavors.

Co-Founders to Ride-or-Dies

Susan and Alane are working hard to open their location in Connecticut. Each took on a role. Susan led the development of the cafe that’s in the distillery while also managing the licensing and permitting. Meanwhile, Alane took on managing the finances. But even while roles split, each of the women continued to work closely and even together on many projects.

During the process of launching the distillery, the friends faced challenges that sometimes made them question whether they could handle the spirits industry. One incident especially made the women feel discouraged.

“They looked at us like, Well, you're women, and this is hard work, and you don't do hard work,” Susan noted as she remembered the unpleasant event.

But together, they persevered and got the thing done.

“Susan and I looked at each other and we're like, ‘well, we can dig in and do a lot more than a lot of people give us credit for,’” Alane recalled. “So that made us a little more stubborn and determined to move forward.”

Aside from that one unpleasant instance, Susan and Alane have discovered that the distilling community is overall welcoming and supportive. While navigating the construction phase, the two met many experienced veterans who were willing to teach and guide the new distillers through any additional challenges.

Ride-Or-Dies Into the Future

Having come from the finance industry, another male-dominated space, Susan experienced the power of women banding together to benefit one another. She sees the opportunity for a similar group in the distilling industry and was encouraged by the inclusion of a Women in Distilling event at the recent American Distilling Institute Craft Spirits Conference.

“I think they need to start to have their own entity … group,” said Susan. “I think that they definitely need to do that as a support base.”

As the industry becomes more diverse, the long-time friends, coworkers and cofounders share advice for anyone considering following their path.

First: do your homework. So much of what Alane and Susan have accomplished is thanks to the knowledge they gained in their pre-distillery research. Second: curate a team of people who will bring unique perspectives that will help you succeed along with a supportive environment.

Finally, Alane insisted, “Take advantage of what's out there and available to you.” Find organizations, funding, grants and tax relief that will not only help you financially but give you the foundation you need to build your dream.