Our Story – Who are Powdermen Spirits?

The name “Powdermen” refers to the plural of a blaster, explosives engineer, or miner – who are known individually as a “Powderman”. Having grown up in the mining & explosives industry as a Powderman himself, Owner & General Manager Frank Lucca has never been too far away from distillation, as the history of mining is deeply intertwined with spirits. The old-school Powdermen, having to work with nitroglycerin and other unstable explosives, usually drank heavily to calm their nerves. Powdermen and miners from around the world who came to the USA, all brought their own version of at-home distilled spirits. Over the years, mining and moonshining have remained close – working around the world, Frank was frequently exposed to miners making their own spirits and took an interest in doing it himself.

The “Kick-in-the-you-know-what” for Frank to start the distillery came from Retired US Special Forces Operator, and fellow Powderman, Charlie Gray. Frank worked with Charlie while consulting for the USDA, where the two became fast friend. Charlie is who taught Frank the specifics of how to make what we would call “Moonshine”, or Unaged Corn Whiskey, in the backwoods of North Carolina.

One day, on one of their many phone calls, Charlie convinced Frank to buy a still and leave it in his living room as a constant reminder to follow through on his interest in distilling and to start a distillery – the rest is history. Charlie, who passed away Jan 28, 2016, is one of those Powdermen near and dear to Frank Lucca & his son Vince a piece of whose legacy are in every bottle we produce.

The Powdermen We Honor