Sisters Alisa Lawrence & Nilaja Young Blend Family and Craft Distilling
Family bonds built New England Sweetwater Farm & Distillery. And those bonds are keeping the business growing thanks to Alisa Lawrence and Nilaja Young. The sisters took the helm during the end of 2020 in the midst of a pandemic but they’re building a legacy for their whole family – and beyond.
The two women didn’t start out in the distilling industry but when their cousin asked them to take over his distillery – in order to keep the company in the family – it didn’t take them long to make the decision.
Together, the two produce a collection of high-quality vodka, gin, whiskey and other craft spirits. As they reflect on the last three and a half years, they admit: they were never really scared to be in charge. After all, everything they’d done before the moment they decided to become distillery owners had prepared them for the experience.
It Began with Family
Two weeks. That’s how long it took Alisa and Nilaja to decide. When cousin Robert Patton-Spruill decided to move on and hand over the business, he invited the sisters to take over.
“My cousin Robert founded the distillery in 2015,” Alisa explained. “He had a love for science and he learned how to make [spirits] in the woods of North Carolina with his grandfather back [when he was] 10 years old. He wanted to make sure that it landed in the hands of a family member.”
The biggest hurdle? Leaving New York. “We are New Yorkers,” Alisa admitted, “We're the New Yorker family … I think it was more scary with the idea of leaving New York and coming to New Hampshire. That was more scary than anything.”
But ultimately, Alisa, Nilaja, their husbands and kids trekked up to New Hampshire to take up residence as the owners of a farm and distillery. Their respective backgrounds gave them the tools that they needed to oversee operations.
“I managed a health clinic for 10 years,” Nilaja noted. “That gave me a lot of organizational skills (I have to pay attention to detail), leadership skills [for when I’m] overseeing operations. So it definitely helped me a great deal in coming into this.”
Nilaja’s experience in sales also helps her slide into that role very easily. It gave her a foundation to build on as she started working on getting craft spirits behind bars and on retailer shelves.
Meanwhile, Alisa came with an entrepreneurial spirit, ready to build a business.
“We were in the music business for the past 20 years doing all kinds of management and marketing projects and project management,” Alisa revealed. “So we always had a thing for it.”
Building with Family
Combined, the sisters have the perfect combination of savvy and know-how to craft spirits and cocktails.
Alisa spends her days overseeing operations, administration, finance and other responsibilities under those umbrellas. Meanwhile, Nilaja leads development of ready-to-drink cocktails, exploring ingredients and flavors to create products she’s proud of.
If there are any gaps in operations, they’ve found skillful family members to complete the team.
“Our husbands were able to take up the mantle with us,” Alisa insisted. “And we were all able to accomplish everything that we needed… We have our aunt who moved from New York. She's a retired teacher. She works in our tasting room. Our kids work in the tasting room and do tastings for us and have some aspects of the business that they do.”
Through Alisa’s and Nilaja’s families, they carry on the legacy of their cousin’s family-run business. In fact, their ultimate goal is to create a story that will live on and a brand that they can leave behind for the future.
As Nilaja said, “We are a generational brand that built generational bonds by refusing to compromise on taste and quality.”
“We're protecting our legacy and the principles that our cousin worked so hard to establish [passed down] from his grandfather,” Alisa echoed. “He didn't want to sacrifice quality for quantity.”
The sisters carry on that dedication to quality through the continuous creation of spirits and ready-to-drink cocktails. And they keep that principle in mind while continually working to expand their distribution footprint into new areas.
Currently, 82 percent of sales are from the tasting room but New England Sweetwater has licensing to sell in eight other states. To take advantage of those opportunities, the sales team needs to grow but Alisa and Nilaja are first focused on building depth in their home market before spreading.
Behind the scenes, the team is dealing with challenges, like licensing, regulation and permitting. Aliss and Nilaja meet these challenges with grace.
“This is such a heavily regulated industry,” Alisa disclosed. “So, state to state, it's totally different.”
Luckily, the sisters have found support from their fellow distillers in the New Hampshire Craft Spirits Organization. The group has helped them navigate the state’s Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) and worked with them on building marketing campaigns.
“We're definitely realizing the importance of having help, getting the experts and getting some mentors and people who are in the field and who've been doing this,” Alisa acknowledged. “We have distillery friends throughout the state who are really helpful.”
Beyond the Family
Alisa confessed that she and her sister are the only women in the group. “We're the only woman-owned distillery, I believe, in New Hampshire. So never mind [being] Black-owned.”
Their participation brings a unique perspective and a different experience to the guild that the current distillery owners don’t have. They see opportunities and challenges that haven’t been tapped because the industry has been so white and male for so long.
The tide is turning though. Both Alisa and Nilaja see progress happening thanks in large part to initiatives enacted throughout the industry.
“It’s been an explosion,” Alisa declared. “With so many initiatives that have taken place in the spirits industry to bring in makers of color by owners and founders, it's been amazing to see.”
The sisters pointed out efforts from Uncle Nearest’s Fawn Weaver as well as Dia Simms’ Pronghorn which aims to promote diversity across the industry.
Alisa and Nilaja see these initiatives as successful because they offer practical education to individuals who are beginning from the ground up. To open the door for founders from all walks of life, that type of basic training needs to be more available.
“They're helping spirit makers, women and people of color to get into the business and educate them about what to do financially.” Alisa reflected. “How do you fix your still when it's not getting the pressure – things like that.”
Bottom line: the community is growing and Alisa and Nilaja are finding growing enthusiasm among women and other underrepresented groups in the industry.
“We were just like, ‘Okay, it's just going to be us,’” Alisa says, reflecting on how she and Nilaja felt when they first joined the industry. “And it's just so refreshing to find Women in Distilling or to find a bourbon women's blog or people who are genuinely interested in helping us and [letting] people know that we're here.”
So those bonds that the sisters found in their distillery have extended beyond their business and into the community beyond. They’ve found support with their family and with their peers. After all, how can you grow up and out if you don’t have a solid foundation bonded beneath you?
