These 3 Friends Turned A Light-Hearted Joke Into A Spirits Company — Now, They’re Planning To Launch An Internship To Usher Young Founders Into The Industry

An idea tossed around as a light-hearted joke turned into a business.

Ernest Drummond, Howard Riley, and Michael Earley developed an idea to venture into the spirits business during COVID-19, the Philly Voice reported. With Pennsylvania’s state-owned liquor stores closing during the pandemic, they wanted to create their own.

“Somebody brought up as a joke, ‘We should come up with our own liquor brand so we can sell to our friends and family while we were doing our little barbecues and get together stuff like that,'” Earley told the outlet. “We quickly came to the realization that that was highly illegal, and it’s not as easy as we thought — not moonshine and liquor out the bathtub.”

The trio launched Diggs Boys Bourbon in 2020. According to the company website, it drew inspiration from distillers with over a century of experience making whiskey.

“We use the best ingredients around to complete a unique blend of malt, corn, rye and wheat, along with limestone filtered water. This labor of love creates a bold yet smooth bourbon that’s pleasing to taste,” its website stated.

Diggs Boys Bourbon’s inaugural product was the high-rye bourbon, which launched online in January 2022 but is now available in stores in 12 states. The company’s expansion goals include reaching more consumers in Pennsylvania, with plans to bring its product to 10 state stores once it receives the green light from the state’s liquor control board, the Philly Voice reported.

The company has also increased its product line. It recently released a rye whiskey that is available for purchase online.

Looking ahead, Diggs Boys Bourbon hopes to open distilleries in Germantown, Mount Airy, and East Falls — all towns in Philadelphia, PA.

Diggs Boys Bourbon plans to offer guests distillery tours, bourbon and whiskey flight tastings, and the opportunity to purchase bottles and merchandise.

Additionally, the space will be used to give back to the community as the company plans to create an internship program for students interested in becoming founders in the industry, per the Philly Voice.

“That’s been a mission of ours, a mission of mine, to bring that experience to Philadelphia and have a distillery and tasting room and a place where we can get together, have a good time, experience whiskey and spirits, (and) cigars, and just create and continue the legacy of what we’ve been doing for years,” Earley explained to the outlet.