54 | VIPPensacola.com
T
hey say you should never mix
business with pleasure...Or
should you?
In the case of 32-year-old
Brandon Ficklin, mixing the two was
literally the key to his success and now
he’s raising a glass to a future that seems
brimming with possibility as he builds his
newly launched vodka brand to become a
premier player at bars and restaurants all
over the nation.
A native of Mississippi, Ficklin’s
entrepreneurial mind led him to recognize
the potential of capturing the beverage
industry local to the Gulf Coast. And
when he caught wind of a farm in West
Palm Beach growing sweet corn that
would provide his vodka with a smooth,
clean and fresh taste that would set it apart
he decided to take a shot and poured every
ounce of effort and passion into getting his
dream off the ground.
Why vodka? The answer is as clear as
the drink itself. For Ficklin, vodka has
always been his favorite way to celebrate
a momentous occasion or wind down
and relax. And so as he searched his soul
for something that would blend a true
passion with a desire to own and run his
own company. He realized that starting a
craft vodka company would shake up his
future and help him reach his goals unlike
anything else.
Having sourced the corn he would use
for his grain, Ficklin went on to contract
with a distillery and bottling company
based in West Palm Beach, using a process
of small batch distilling that would
produce the pure, clean taste for which he
wants Beveran vodka to become known.
“The grain that we use is put through a
three-stage cleansing process before being
triple-filtered and purified in a classic
pot still that helps ensure perfection,”
explains Ficklin. “From there, it goes
through a ten-plate column made of
copper and steel. We produce the vodka in
small batches so that the utmost care can
be put into making each individual bottle
the very highest in quality.”
Such lofty standards are understandable,
given that the beverage industry can
certainly be fraught with challenges.
Big name labels have a monopoly on
the market, but Ficklin’s spent enough
time taste-testing the competition to
know exactly what could set his bottles
on the top shelf. “Though I see myself
as a naturally gifted vodka connoisseur,
I’ve never had any formal training in
mixology or bartending training,” Ficklin,
who spends much of the year offshore
working on an oil rig, admits. “Really,
my wide-ranging knowledge and skills
are entrenched from pure passion and the
process of developing my business plan;
and learning more about vodka has only
intensified my love and my passion for
premium vodka.”
That passion keeps him driven to
succeed and bring Beveran to the fore,
especially in areas like Pensacola; a
city Ficklin sees as the ideal market for
his craft bottles. “Pensacola is really a
community that seems to embrace the
story by
Liesel Schmidt
| photos by
Bee Loud
CLEAR PASSION
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12/20/16 9:16 AM