Meet the brothers who are upping Boston’s cocktail game

Dave Willis (left) and Will Willis (right), of Bully Boys Distillers.

Tucked away on a quiet sidestreet in Roxbury’s Newmarket neighborhood, brothers Will and Dave Willis have spent the past four years making craft spirits with names like Boston Rum and Hub Punch. The Willis brothers opened Bully Boy Distillers in 2011, and business is booming. We caught up with them about discovering their family’s connection to bootlegging, opening Boston’s first craft distillery, and more.

1. When did you first know you wanted to open a distillery?

Will: I think we have always been hobbyists – particularly with cider. Making cider was our intro into the idea of making our own thing. Our grandfather had a small farm in Sherborn, and we had a five-gallon cider press and would use it a lot as young kids. When we were in our late teens, we started experimenting with hard cider. Then we had a little stovetop still and messed around with that. We loved working with our hands and working together. We went on to do different things but always held onto the idea of a distillery.

2. Distilling clearly doesn’t happen overnight. Did you have to start the company long before you had a product to sell?

Will: In 2010, we started the company. We officially launched in June 2011. When you talk about distilling, the time it takes depends on the product. Anything that’s brown has been barrel aged. A respectable spirit is generally aged two years. Aged whiskey takes the longest, and aged rum, both take about four years. The clear stuff like vodka you can make in about a week.

3. Where did the name Bully Boy come from?

Will: The farm was originally owned by our great grandfather, he had a horse named Bully Boy and was a big fan of Teddy Roosevelt. He was his college roommate at Harvard.

Dave: There is a vault in the farmhouse basement. A steel bank vault door as the entrance. The steel door was taken from a defunct bank in downtown Boston. We were aware of this as kids, but we didn’t know what was inside it. After our grandfather died in the 1980s, we moved to the farm. We had to kind of break into the vault, and discovered cache of pre-Prohibition and Prohibition era liquor. It wasn’t made by our grandfather. This vault of illicit liquor served as an informal gathering place during Prohibition.

Will: Some of the bottles have signatures of those in attendance at these gatherings. It’s pretty cool.

Dave: And there was a plaque in the vault with a dedication to Bully Boy, who died on St. Patrick’s Day in 1926.

Bottles found by the Willis brothers in the vault.

4. Do you think the approach you’re taking is heavily influenced from growing up on a working farm?

Will: I think growing up in a farming environment, there’s obviously a great reliance on the land and on supplying yourself. I think Dave and I from a young age were impressed with how different a way of life it was. We were intent on figuring out a way to make income from the land.

Right now we’re sourcing most of our grain from Snavely’s Mill in Pennsylvania, and Aurora Mills Farm in Maine. We get our molasses through International Molasses, which sources it from Louisiana. Our long-term plan is to source as many of the ingredients for the distillery from the Sherborn farm, which is now owned by our parents.

Dave: Our mom grew up on the farm. It’s been in the family for a number of generations. Beef cattle is the primary source of income there. But they grow corn for the cattle, and that’s an ingredient we use.

5. And yet you’ve chosen to have Bully Boy based in Boston – not on the family farm in Sherborn. Why?

Will: We knew we really wanted to stay in Boston. We love Boston. And Boston is a brand unto itself.

6. The distillery is in Roxbury – what was appealing about the neighborhood?

Will: When you start to look for industrial space in Boston, you realize quickly there isn’t much of it. We are in the Newmarket district, which is equal parts Dorchester, Roxbury, and the South End. It’s a neat little part of town. Our neighbors are all doing interesting things. It’s this cool little community of folks. A a lot of them are here because it’s really hard to find affordable industrial space in Boston.

7. You got a lot of attention when you launched your bottled Old Fashioned. How did that idea come about?

Will: So we’re a pure spirits house. Bottled cocktails are not our thing. But it was a fun side project. The last couple of holiday seasons, we would bottle Old Fashioneds and bring them to parties for ourselves. And it’s been really popular.

8. What do you think it is that attracts customers to Bully Boy?

Will: Our timing was good because of the ride of the whole go-local thing. This whole go-local thing permeates all aspects of consumerism. People sort of get what we’re about. Maybe they haven’t tried craft whiskey but they’ve tried a cheese made locally. We’ve had an amazing reception from restaurants. It has really been the customers demanding local products that has been a factor.

9. What are some local companies that you admire?

Will: Some local businesses (and one charity) we admire either because we like their products, or appreciate what they’re all about are Parlour Skiis, Cutty’s sandwiches, and Haymakers for Hope.

10. What’s next for Bully Boy?

Will: We’re expanding pretty dramatically. We just rented an additional 8,000 square feet, and we’re building this little mini campus. Our existing space will become a barrel house. And the new space will house a 750-gallon still, which to put things in perspective, our current still is 150 gallons. We also want to have a tasting room, but that licensing process doesn’t happen overnight.

This is the first installment of Boston.com’s new weekly Q&A series. Know someone in Boston who you think is interesting or inspiring? Email me at [email protected].

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