Manifest Distilling

What Manifest Distilling does

Manifest Distilling is a privately-held, certified-organic craft distillery founded in September 2016 in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida by four co-founders — David Cohen (Head Distiller/President), Scott Kennelly, Trey Mills, and Tom Johnson. Operating from a 9,000 square foot facility co-located with Intuition Ale Works in the city's Sports District, the company produces a portfolio of small-batch spirits using copper pot-column stills with grains sourced from North American farm co-ops and Florida-grown citrus from C&S Groves. The product range spans vodkas (Potato Vodka, Florida Citrus Vodka), gins (Organic Gin, Barreled Gin, Florida Botanical Gin), whiskeys (Straight Rye Whiskey, 100% Rye Whiskey, Honey Rye Whiskey), and liqueurs (Single Origin Coffee Liqueur, Fernet Manifesto), plus a sourced-whiskey sub-brand called the Manifest Whiskey Project (MWP).

The business operates a multi-channel go-to-market model. Direct-to-consumer revenue is generated through The Cocktail Room — an on-site bar and event venue opened in 2021 following the Florida Craft Distilleries bill — and through online retail partnerships with Drizly and Seelbach's. Wholesale distribution across Florida is handled exclusively through RNDC (Republic National Distributing Company). Ancillary revenue streams include guided distillery tours, private tastings (groups of 10+), cocktail pairing classes, and venue rental for corporate events with a 60-person maximum capacity. The company has pursued limited strategic co-development partnerships with local Florida producers including Bold Bean Coffee Roasters, Bee Friends Farm, and The Buffa Bittering Company to create seasonal specialty SKUs.

Manifest claims multiple Florida first-mover positions in its category, including Florida's first certified organic gin, Florida's first Fernet, and Downtown Jacksonville's only full-scale organic distillery. The team has grown from the four co-founders to approximately 15 employees. No institutional funding rounds have been disclosed, and ownership remains with the founding partners. Batch production volumes are in the low thousands of bottles per release, consistent with small-batch craft output.

Name

Manifest Distilling

Legal name

Manifest Distilling

Website

https://manifestdistilling.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Manifest Distilling is a certified-organic craft distillery in Downtown Jacksonville, FL producing small-batch vodka, gin, rye whiskey, and liqueurs. It sells D2C through its on-site Cocktail Room, online via Drizly and Seelbach's, and wholesale across Florida via RNDC.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Craft Distilled Spirits

NAICS

Distilleries (31214), Distilleries (312140)

akta.pro primary industry

Spirits Distilling & Brands (CRADAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Distilled Spirits Production & Distilling (AFAFAAAC), Craft Distilleries & Microdistilleries (THAFALAH), Spirits Distillery Tours & Tastings (Whiskey, Rum, Gin, Vodka) (THAJAGAF)

Keywords

• Craft distilled spirits
• Organic distillery
• Rye whiskey production
• Craft vodka
• Artisanal gin

Headquarters

HQ city

Jacksonville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Spirits Product Sales: Sale of bottled spirits including Potato Vodka, Florida Citrus Vodka, Gin, Barreled Gin, Florida Botanical Gin, Straight Rye Whiskey, 100% Rye Whiskey, Single Origin Coffee Liqueur, Fernet Manifesto, and Honey Rye Whiskey. Products sold through tasting room, online, and wholesale distribution across Florida.
2. On-site Cocktail Sales and Venue Rental: The Cocktail Room sells cocktails directly to customers and offers venue rental for events including cocktail hours, tailgating events, corporate fundraisers, intimate dinner parties, and business meetings. Following the 2021 Florida Craft Distilleries bill.
3. Tours and Tastings: Distillery tours and private guided tastings offered to visitors. Tours booked through AnyRoad platform. Private tastings available for groups of 10+ with customizable food and beverage options.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Manifest Distilling is a certified organic craft distillery that produces and sells a portfolio of small-batch spirits including vodka, gin, rye whiskey, coffee liqueur, fernet, and honey rye whiskey. It operates The Cocktail Room on-site for cocktail sales and event venue rental, and offers guided distillery tours and private tastings. Products are sold directly at the Jacksonville tasting room, online via Drizly and Seelbach's, and wholesale through RNDC across Florida.

Product overview

Manifest Distilling is a craft distillery producing a portfolio of spirits including vodkas (Potato Vodka, Florida Citrus Vodka), gins (Organic Gin, Barreled Gin, Florida Botanical Gin), rye whiskeys (Straight Rye Whiskey, 100% Rye Whiskey, Honey Rye Whiskey), liqueurs (Single Origin Coffee Liqueur batches, Fernet Manifesto), and the sourced Manifest Whiskey Project line. The company operates The Cocktail Room as an on-site venue for cocktails and events, and offers distillery tours. Located in Downtown Jacksonville's Sports District, the facility is certified organic. Products range from core spirits distilled on-site using grains from North American co-ops to experimental collaborations with local partners like Bold Bean Coffee Roasters and Bee Friends Farm.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Manifest Whiskey Project (MWP): A secondary line of spirits bringing unique, quality sourced whiskey to market, featuring annual releases of selected barrels across the whiskey spectrum.
• Manifest Honey Whiskey Project

Products and services

• Potato Vodka Handcrafted vodka distilled from 100% non-GMO Idaho potatoes, naturally gluten-free, bottled at 80 proof (40% ABV) with each bottle containing approximately 9.5 lbs of potatoes. Targeted at craft spirits consumers seeking gluten-free and locally-themed options.
• Florida Citrus Vodka Flavored vodka made from Florida-grown Valencia oranges, pink grapefruits, and Meyer lemons sourced from C&S Groves in Palatka, Florida. Produced via citrus peel maceration and re-distillation in a pot still as a byproduct of gin production.
• Organic Gin Certified organic gin developed over 18 months using 25+ individually distilled botanicals including cardamom, coriander, juniper berry, angelica root, lemon peel, and orange peel, bottled at 90 proof (45% ABV). Florida's first organic gin.
• Barreled Gin Organic gin aged in a combination of new and previously used casks, including Manifest Whiskey Project bourbon barrels and charred American oak barrels. Positioned for both gin drinkers and whiskey drinkers.
• Florida Botanical Gin Certified organic gin featuring botanicals native to Florida including three citrus varieties (orange, lemon, grapefruit), sumac, elderberries, orris root, rosehip, and blackberry leaves. Developed over two and a half years of research.
• Straight Rye Whiskey Organic straight rye whiskey made with 60% rye grain and 40% whole wheat from North American co-op farms, aged in 30 and 53 gallon American white oak barrels, bottled at 100 proof with a unique wheated mash bill.
• 100% Rye Whiskey Whiskey made from 100% rye grain, offering bold peppery notes balanced with darker fruit-like black cherry flavors, bottled at 50% ABV.
• Single Origin Coffee Liqueur Limited release coffee liqueur collaborations with Bold Bean Coffee Roasters and The Buffa Bittering Company, featuring single origin coffees (Guatemalan Finca Twi'Ha in Batch #1 and Colombian Luis Noguera in Batch #2) blended with botanicals such as black cardamom, cinnamon, cacao nibs, allspice, Lulo fruit, bananas, and panela syrup.
• Fernet Manifesto Florida's first Fernet, featuring 21 botanicals and over two weeks of maceration, crafted to be sippable with deep, rich complexity while maintaining the essence of Fernet. Bottled at 40% ABV with no artificial flavorings, colorings, or additives.
• Honey Rye Whiskey Joint collaboration with Bee Friends Farm: straight rye whiskey aged for 2 years and 5 months, then dumped and filled with black mangrove honey for 2 months, then refilled with rye whiskey for an additional 3 months of aging, yielding sweet and savory honey character with distinctive spice and oak.
• Manifest Whiskey Project (MWP) Secondary product line bringing unique, quality sourced whiskey to market through annual releases of selected barrels, including sourced bourbon barrels from Lawrenceburg, IN (MWP #1), American single malt whiskey finished in Intuition Ale Works' Underdark Stout barrels (MWP #2), and solera-aged straight bourbon whiskey in collaboration with Drink Seelbach's (MWP #3).
• The Cocktail Room On-site cocktail bar and event venue featuring a marble bar, polished concrete floors, vaulted ceilings, and custom shelving. Offers signature cocktails, cocktail classes, and venue rental for events including cocktail hours, tailgating, corporate fundraisers, intimate dinners, and business meetings, with maximum capacity of 60 persons.
• Distillery Tours and Private Tastings Guided educational distillery tours and private tastings for groups of 10+ guests with customizable food and beverage options. Includes Distiller's Tour (public experience) and Private Tasting formats, with bookings managed through the AnyRoad platform at the Jacksonville facility.

Quantifiable outcome

• First Organic Gin in Florida
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bee Friends FarmcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint collaboration on the Manifest Honey Whiskey Project. A 30-gallon barrel of straight rye whiskey was aged for 2 years and 5 months, then dumped and filled with black mangrove honey (distinctive Floridian honey varietal). The honey was aged in the barrel for two months, then extracted and returned to Manifest. The barrel was refilled with rye whiskey for an additional 3 months aging.
• Bold Bean Coffee RoasterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Single Origin Coffee Liqueur Project. Bold Bean Coffee Roasters (based in Jacksonville, FL) provides green coffee sourcing and cold brew production for the liqueur. First batch featured Guatemalan estate Finca Twi'Ha; second batch featured Colombian coffee from Luis Noguera in the Narino region.
• The Buffa Bittering CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Single Origin Coffee Liqueur Project. The Buffa Bittering Company, produced in Manifest's space, helped establish recipes for the coffee liqueurs using botanicals including black cardamom, cinnamon, cacao nibs, allspice, Lulo fruit, bananas, and panela syrup.
• Koval DistilleryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContractual arrangement to use Koval's facility in Chicago to finalize mash bills and begin distilling while Manifest's Jacksonville facility was being built. Twenty 30-gallon barrels were produced and aged at Koval's facility for 12 months before being shipped to Jacksonville.
• Drink Seelbach'scoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Manifest Whiskey Project #3 (MWP#3). Procured 315 gallons of blended 10-year-old and 3-year straight bourbon whiskey, which was solera-aged in 4,000-gallon foeder in Tennessee.
• C&S GrovescoreOthersCitrus supplier for Florida Citrus Vodka, located in San Mateo/Palatka, Florida. Provided 600 lbs of Valencia and Parson Brown oranges and pink grapefruits, plus 200 lbs of Meyer lemons for the inaugural batch.
• Bourbonr.com / Blake RiberminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBourbon aficionado Blake Riber participated in the barrel selection process for MWP#1, tasting through all 12 barrels and selecting 5 to be released as single barrel bottlings. The 10th barrel from Rye Batch 2 was purchased by Blake Riber and sold through Ezras.com (now Seelbachs.com).
• RNDC (Republic National Distributing Company)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWholesale distribution partner for Manifest spirits throughout Florida. RNDC received the remaining 1,344 bottles of Potato Vodka Batch #1 for distribution.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Koval Distillery: Koval Distillery is a Chicago-based craft distillery producing whiskey, gin, vodka, and liqueurs with on-site tasting room. Notably, Koval also has a direct partnership with Manifest Distilling — Koval produced and aged Manifest's first rye barrels while the Jacksonville facility was being built.
• FEW Spirits: FEW Spirits is an Evanston, Illinois craft distillery producing bourbon, rye, gin, and whiskey with tasting room, tours, and multi-state distribution. Comparable craft positioning, diversified spirit portfolio, and direct-to-consumer channels.
• Treaty Oak Distilling: Treaty Oak is a Texas craft distillery producing whiskey, gin, vodka, and rum with on-site tasting room and tours. Highly comparable craft spirits portfolio, DTC-driven business model, and small-batch production scale.
• Smooth Ambler Spirits: Smooth Ambler is a West Virginia craft distillery producing bourbon, rye, gin, and vodka with national distribution. Similar craft positioning, multi-category spirit portfolio, and small-to-mid scale operations.
• St. Augustine Distillery: St. Augustine Distillery is a Florida craft distillery producing bourbon, vodka, gin, and whiskey on a similar small-batch scale with on-site tasting room, tours, and cocktail bar. It is the closest geographic and operating-model peer to Manifest Distilling.
• Cathead Distillery: Cathead Distillery is a craft distillery in Jackson, Mississippi producing small-batch vodka, gin, and whiskey with on-site tasting room and event venue. Highly comparable operating model, scale, and go-to-market mix to Manifest.
• Copper & Kings American Brandy Company: Copper & Kings is a craft distillery in Louisville, Kentucky producing brandy, gin, and bourbon with on-site bar and event programming. Comparable craft spirits focus, small-batch approach, and experiential venue strategy.
• Dark Door Spirits: Dark Door Spirits is a Tampa, Florida craft distillery producing vodka, gin, and whiskey with on-site tasting room. Comparable Florida craft peer competing in the same regional market as Manifest.

Emerging players

• WhistlePig: WhistlePig is a Vermont-based premium rye whiskey producer that scaled from craft roots into a national brand. Comparable craft-to-premium rye whiskey positioning, though at significantly larger scale than Manifest.
• Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey: Uncle Nearest is a Tennessee-based premium whiskey brand that scaled rapidly via storytelling-driven craft-plus approach. Comparable craft-distilled whiskey positioning with a strong provenance narrative, though at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/manifestdistilling
• Instagraminstagram.com/manifestdistilling
• Xx.com/manifestspirits
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/manifest-distilling

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Manifest Distilling