DIY whiskey ageing kit company seeks Kickstarter funding

Two friends have launched a Kickstarter campaign in a bid to raise US$10,000 for their do-it-yourself whiskey ageing kit business.

Do-it-yourself whiskey ageing kit company seeks Kickstarter funding

Michael Volz and Bryan Olson started their company Age it Yourself earlier this year, allowing consumers to age their own whiskey at home.

Priced at US$50, each kit comes wit a mason jar, freshly charred American oak from fallen trees in the Olson family’s back garden, as glass bottle, flask, funnel and instructions to create standard aged whiskey, Bourbon, cocktails such as Manhattans or other spirits such as Tequila.

The oak barrels have been cut to “maximize the long grain wood” and charred in Volz’s custom-built oven, and can be re-used up to three times.

Now, the duo want to raise the money in order to take their company to the next level and increase production.

“We’re sort of going at it with three tiers,” Volz told ARL Now. “There’s the retailers and customers and, there’s the wholesalers to push it to more people, and one thing we’re seeing that we didn’t expect is the producers, the distilleries, have interest.”

If the pair manage to reach their fundraising target, they hope to be able to develop new flavours in the near future.

“A year from now I’d love to have a system set up where we’re developing new flavours, we have enough of a customer base for people to get excited about it,” said Olson.

“We’re looking into expanding into other areas, like selling more traditional, larger barrels, and trying to get into a lot more bars.

“Five years from now, we’d love to partner with a distillery or, maybe, create on ourselves.”

For more DIY whiskey ageing kits, take a look at our list of the top 10 DIY whiskey ageing kits available on the market.