OUR Founders

Jim Benson

Co-Founder, Owner

Jim Benson was born in Boulder and raised on Lookout Mountain west of Denver, spending his childhood skiing, rafting Colorado rivers, and climbing 14ers (22 so far).

After college and time working in Texas, he returned to Colorado and moved to the Vail Valley in 1990, where he has been an active community member ever since. He served five years on the Avon Town Council, volunteered for over 20 years with the Beaver Creek World Cup ski races, and currently serves with Vail Mountain Rescue Group (SAR).

Jim has worked part-time as a ski instructor with Vail Resorts for 35 seasons, cherishing every powder day. An entrepreneur at heart, he opened Box Office Video in Avon in 1993, which operated for 17 years, and has since launched several businesses. In 2014, he and his business partner Max founded a distillery in Dotsero, now producing eight bottled spirits and two ready-to-drink canned products.

Outside of work, Jim enjoys flying planes he’s built himself, skiing, and hiking with his wife and their two Golden Retrievers.

Max Vogelman

Co-Founder & Master Distiller

Max Vogelman moved to the Vail Valley from Phoenix at the age of one and grew up in Eagle, Colorado. He has been skiing since he was five and developed an early love of aviation, spending time flying with his father in Leadville and later building his own RV-7A aircraft, which first flew in 2010.

After graduating from Eagle Valley High School and earning an associate degree from Colorado Mountain College, Max created architectural renderings for local architects, developing the entrepreneurial mindset that would shape his career.

He later began distilling as a hobby, building a small still in his garage and refining recipes over several years. That passion grew into a business when he partnered with Jim to found their distillery in 2014. Max now lives in the Vail Valley with his wife, two daughters, and their distillery dog, Sebastian.