Podcast: MHW Concept to Commercialization - New Dawn Distilling’s Juneteenth Release with Dawn O’Neal

Every whiskey starts as an idea, and it takes a village to get it into a glass. Founder and CEO Dr. Dawn O'Neal joined The MHW Mark podcast to talk about the road from concept to commercialization. She also shares why New Dawn's first release, our 6-Year-Old Cask Strength Bourbon, launched on Juneteenth 2024.

Dawn came to whiskey as an ecologist and conservation leader, not a distiller. Through MHW's concept-to-commercialization program, she laid out exactly what she wanted: a whiskey true to her values and her palate. That search led to the historic Alton Distillery in New York's Catskill Mountains. It also led to a bourbon made from organic New York grain, with a nose of apricot, anise and chamomile.

The release date was deliberate. Juneteenth honors Dawn's family history and resilience. It also marks New Dawn's place in an industry African Americans helped build but were long kept from owning. Press play to hear how it all came together, from first sample to first bottle.