Spirit Inspiration Some of the state’s loveliest liquors are coming out of Distillerie Acadian in Iberia Parish By Holly Leleux-Thubron
T
here’s one distillery in Louisiana that rises above the rest—offering something fitting for everyone’s glass—and it’s Distillerie Acadian in Iberia Parish. The family behind the operation launched the enterprise in 2017 and they’ve been going fult-tilt since. Philip Mestayer is at the helm of the still as the company’s head distiller. Family patriarch, Steve Mestayer, a lawyer by trade, brings his legal knowledge and know-how to the day-to-day operations. Big brother, Jeep Mestayer, delivers decades of business acumen and killer instinct to the table. All three are critical ingredients to make the Distillerie the successful endeavor it’s become, and the trio shows no signs of slowing down. It all started a few years back when the family’s interest in making whiskey grew, as did their confidence in a business model that developed over time. They began
24
learning as much as they could about the liquor-making process, the licensing and permitting requirements, testing potential recipes and acquiring equipment, and navigating the world of spirits in a very complicated legal landscape...and they prevailed. First out of a homemade still (welded by Philip Mestayer’s own hands) was Cajun’s Cut. With this experiment, the Mestayers wanted to create a true aged bourbon. They also wanted to prove that Cajuns could make a bourbon just as good as any of the bottles coming out of Kentucky—where 98% of the world’s bourbons are made. Small batches of Cajun’s Cut have been distilled every few months since with each aged for two years or more in charred, white oak barrels. Bottles hit store shelves in quick bursts as aging comes to an end, and in some 337M A GA ZINE . CO M
J U LY 2 0 2 1
