WanderFolk Spirits - Something to Believe In
Jeff Cole and Derek Duty lead the transformation from Prairie Wolf Distillery to WanderFolk Spirits
It can be hard to identify the moment when change occurs. Nearly imperceptible adjustments compound, leaving you wondering if things were ever different. Others happen with such ferocity you plant your feet and hope for the best. Along the latter end of that spectrum lie changes announced in writing. The spiritual, operational, and nominal transition from Prairie Wolf Distillery to WanderFolk Spirits began with a letter. Internally, it’s referred to as the Jerry McGuire letter.
Jeff Cole and Derek Duty are unique. Jeff, our story’s Jerry McGuire, has helped, formally and informally, build many OKC bar programs, including those at Bar Cicchetti, Oso, the Ambassador Hotel’s Café Cuvée and O Bar, Stag Lounge, and Vast. His palate is more sensitive than most, demonstrated in the cocktails he creates. With a passion for spirits and cocktail perfection, he may not have been the best salesperson for Prairie Wolf. His co-workers, lovingly and in their best Jeff voice, will exaggerate one of Jeff’s too honest and open sales calls about the product Prairie Wolf once produced. It was because he knew something was and had been missing.
In 2012, Guthrie, Oklahoma’s Prairie Wolf became Oklahoma’s first legal distillery since prohibition ninety-plus years earlier. Over eight years, it produced vodka, a unique gin based around Gunpowder Green Tea, well-regarded cordials, and a rum-adjacent product (made with sorghum instead of rum’s traditional sugar base). In March 2020, Prairie Wolf switched to pandemic mode. Instead of hunkering down and watching every episode of The Great British Baking Show, Zooming, and refining a reliable sourdough starter, Prairie Wolf made…hand sanitizer. An obscene amount of hand sanitizer. Millions of bottles. It kept people employed, served public health, and was a well-rounded success locally and internationally. Like many of us trying new things in 2020, Prairie Wolf also had an identity crisis. Enter the Jerry McGuire letter.
Jeff’s letter to staff and investors, at four pages and opening with “Yo,” outlined in frank detail Prairie Wolf’s challenges, what space its products occupied in the market, and what it could be. It named the accomplishments and the blemishes. It talked about investing in the products, the business, and Guthrie itself. To write a letter of this sort was an act of compassion and hope, compassion for one’s coworkers and the hours they had invested and hope for where Guthrie and Oklahoma could operate in the craft spirits world. The investors bought into Jeff’s vision.
Derek Duty is our second unique character. He previously directed Anthem Brewing’s sales and marketing efforts and started with Prairie Wolf soon after the letter. He’s open, thoughtful, and has a mind built for iterative operational improvement plus marketing savvy and ample alliterations. He’s also a little odd. At times, he makes unusual jokes. He ends many emails with “have a nice.” That’s not a typo. Just “have a nice.” When questioned, he explains that the period of niceness being wished is intentionally left open-ended for the recipient. A nice day? A week? Rest of your life? It’s up to you.
After hand sanitizer, Jeff moved from sales to Head of Distilling and Derek started as General Manager and Director of Sales. Jeff reworked the gin, testing 120 different distillations over eight months, landing on a combination of eleven herbs and spices underrepresented in the gin market, including lemon verbena, Malaysian lime, and a peppercorn virtually unknown to the American spirits world. The vodka got the same treatment and a bourbon whiskey line with port barrel finished variations was added. Now, when they go to spirit conferences and tastings, people don’t pass by. They take notes and ask questions.
Derek rearranged production and operations, streamlining and adding consistency. Prairie Wolf Distillery became WanderFolk Spirits on July 1, 2021. The vodka and gin offerings were reorganized under the “Garden Club” moniker, a nod to Guthrie’s self-identification as a “Garden Club City,” and the whiskey branded as “Same Old Moses,” named after Oklahoma’s first legal saloon, once located in Guthrie. The new Garden Club packaging design incorporates images from Guthrie’s history and was awarded bronze and gold awards at the 2021 Craft Spirits Packaging competition. Distillery tours are scheduled and open to the public. A beautiful craft cocktail bar, Mack & Ike’s, was built next to the distillery for Guthrie residents and visitors to drink and relax in style. In 2021, WanderFolk Spirits was named Guthrie’s business of the year. Sales are up 700% from 2019.
Staff universally accepts that WanderFolk became a true team in 2021. Darren Mitzel, the facilities manager, builds and implements the models predicting raw material needs based on ever-growing demand and ensures finished products leave on time. Ty Cooper and David Davis, a Guthrie-ite, work the bottling line, improving the bottling processes while being quick to mention how each employee works to help the others, whatever the needs may be. Mike Powers, a long time friend and co-worker of Jeff’s, is a product specialist and Brandy Hamilton, a Guthrie native, labels every bottle by hand. David and Brandy talk openly about the pride they feel living in Guthrie and working at WanderFolk.
What does the future hold? There’s a very detailed ten year plan in place at WanderFolk and everything is on the table, including expanding into nearby buildings and states, a larger team, and moving more of the production process in house. A variety of new and aged spirits are in the works. There are 400 barrels of alcohol aging in a warehouse across from the distillery with a timer slowly ticking. It’s all in an effort to redefine what bartenders, distributors, and the consuming public expect from Guthrie’s local distillers. “We haven’t even taken off yet,” Derek assures. When asked about the future, Mike Powers pauses and, in complete seriousness, says, “Get ready. It’s going to be magical.”
>WanderFolk Spirits, 124 E Oklahoma Ave, Guthrie; (405) 445-6448; wanderfolkshop.com
