ST. MARY'S COUNTY, Md. — On a quiet stretch of farmland in Southern Maryland, history, hard work, and a little humor fill every barrel at Tobacco Barn Distillery.
The business sits on land once used for growing tobacco. Today, the rows of crops are corn and grain, fueling a true “ground-to-glass” operation. Tobacco Barn Distillery is owned and operated by three friends, veterans Scott Sanders and Sean, along with Dan, the farmer who owns the land. Together with their wives, they handle everything from planting and harvesting to distilling and bottling.
For co-owner Sanders, it’s a second act rooted in service. He entered the U.S. Naval Academy in July 1976 and followed his father’s path as a Navy pilot, flying the E-2C Hawkeye. Over a 33-year career, he commanded a reserve squadron at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, earned the rank of admiral in 2007, and served as vice commander of Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain, where he led international counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia.
Sanders even used bourbon as a bridge. He tells the story of offering a bottle to a Chinese admiral, a gesture that helped build trust and allowed U.S. ships to operate in the same convoys.
“It’s all about relationships,” he says with a laugh. “The bourbon just made it easier.”
That spirit of camaraderie now fuels Tobacco Barn Distillery. The team produces about 10,000 cases a year, 98 percent of it bourbon.
Sanders credits the spouses with “really running the show,” and had parallels with service by using the same teamwork and trust he learned in uniform.
“All veteran entrepreneurs would tell you, because it’s all about teamwork, it’s all about the people you’re working with,” he said.
The distillery also carries a commitment to sustainability. Solar panels offset much of the power it consumes; a geothermal cooling and heat recovery system cuts energy use by 20 percent; and every bit of cooling water is recycled. After distilling, the spent corn, rye, and wheat are donated to local farmers for livestock feed.
“It’s like your mother’s cookies,” Sanders joked. “The ingredients are better. Your mom controlled all of them and they’d be expensive if she tried to sell a dozen. That’s the same thing with craft distilling.”
For Sanders and his partners, Tobacco Barn Distillery is about more than bourbon. It’s about building something Southern Maryland hasn’t seen in a long time while keeping it local and veteran-strong.
You can sample their spirits and meet the team at the Howard County Veteran-Owned Small Business Expo on Sept. 27, where WMAR-2 News is launching its new “Let’s Talk” series highlighting stories from our community.