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

54-55 Swizzle_Clear Passion.indd   1

12/20/16   9:16 AM