Iron Wolf Ranch & Distillery has only been open for one year, but it is a destination and brand that has been in the making since 2013.
Glenda and Jordan Watters, along with Glenda’s brother Lester Singleton and their friend Randy Aylieff, started the business five years ago.
“The four of us came together, and the vision was really to create a destination venue and experience-based brand,” Jordan said.
Iron Wolf carries a wide variety of products, from flavored whiskey to gin to rum and vodka, and Jordan compares the selection at the distillery to that of a craft brewery.
The distillery itself provides a lengthy list of activities—there is a plaza area complete with picnic tables and a stage for live music called the Bourbon Garden. A covered patio on the side of the distillery is in the works and should be done before the end of 2018, Glenda said.
She emphasized that Iron Wolf is a destination, and the scenic hills surrounding the distillery do not do much to belie that notion, nor does the nine-hole disc golf course that wraps entirely around it.
Iron Wolf so far has seven products in its brand line and is working its way up to 15, and its spirits have won several awards.
The four owners started from scratch and have built every detail of Iron Wolf themselves, from the brand concepts to the buildings—both existing and conceptual—to the bottles that contain the spirits.
“It took us almost two years to get the brand the way we wanted it,” Jordan said. “We went through five different bottle heads to get this truly one-of-a-kind custom bottle done.”
Glenda and Jordan own a wolf named Luna, and Glenda said Luna is the original inspiration for the name Iron Wolf.
“We like the idea of the pack mentality,” she said. “There’s a place for everybody in the pack, and we want people to come out and bring their pack and celebrate the week or forget the week. ... That’s kind of what it’s all about.”