The Spirits of Friendship
A childhood interest in environmental science led to Nashville's first distillery in generations.
Darek Bell and Andrew Webber, both of the class of 1992, began working on environmental science projects while students at USN and continued to do so as adults. Corsair was born out of an offhand comment by Andrew when they were setting up a prototype generator for a biodiesel project. As Andrew remembered the fateful day, “We were working in an un-airconditioned barn in the middle of the summer—during a national heat-wave. You use fryer grease for biodiesel, and one day I kind of collapsed and pointed to a barrel of grease and said, ‘If that was full of whisky I’d be a lot happier right now: He [Darek] called me a couple of weeks later and said, ‘I’m calling your bluff.’”
It wasn’t the first time Darek had called Andrew out. That was in 9th grade when Andrew and Darek both started at USN. They sat next to each other in the first class of the day. Darek insulted Andrew’s argyle socks. A man “does not insult or even notice another man’s socks,” says Andrew.
As Darek remembers the moment, “In life you have to be brutally honest.”
Generally, though, the class of ’92 wasn’t the sort to judge sartorial choices …or much else.
“Our class wasn’t socially regimented,” says Andrew. “You couldn’t easily embarrass yourself…we were a very laid back, casual, ‘hippiesh’ group where quirks were expected rather than ‘looked at.’”
For both Darek and Andrew, favorite memories are Ultimate Frisbee, hacky sack, and hanging out on the front steps listening to fellow students play guitar. Andrew can’t remember a single teacher who wasn’t important to his development. “They all provided value and guidance.”
After USN, Andrew went first to Tufts and then transferred to Rice University in Houston. There he double majored in ecology (with an evolutionary biology focus) and anthropology (with an archeology focus). Darek went to Hampshire College, where he majored in computer graphics.
After college Darek went to work in his family’s construction business, and Andrew worked with dotcom projects. “I like the challenge of starting companies,” says Andrew.
It was during that period Darek first began home-brewing beer, wine, and sake before moving into distilling.
Darek went on to get training at the Siebel Brewing Institute and then the Bruichladdich Distilling Academy in Islay, Scotland. “Bruichladdich’s innovative spirits were infectious” and would heavily influence the creative ethos of Corsair.
Starting Corsair has been particularly gratifying. Comparing it to his earlier ventures, Andrew said, “It is kind of hard to get people excited about a secure web connection.”
Now, especially since they have taken over the old Yazoo space in the Marathon Motor works building that boasts a taproom as well as their distillery, it's easy to get people excited. “This is a fun place to show off what we do. People can see the process and taste the product.”
Corsair’s new space also gives them the capacity to create new spirits—they just won Whisky Magazine’s Innovator of the Year award. It is a chance to push the boundaries of what a whisky or other spirits can be. “We have ADD and are always trying to do something new and different,” comments Darek.
Andrew adds, “As soon as we are done with one thing, we’re onto another unusual project.”
They are both interested in flavor over alcohol and have never been big drinkers. This is reflected in their mutual appreciation of Scotch, which Andrew describes as a drink to savor rather than “run through.”
Darek calls it a “challenging but worthwhile spirit.”
When they have the time, they also both enjoy landscape photography and hiking. Andrew has just gotten to the point—after working seven days a week for longer than he cares to remember—that he can start to experience weekends again. The new-found time has also allowed him to adopt a full grown golden / Lab mix named Eden.
Darek enjoys writing in his spare time. His first book, Alt Whiskeys, which chronicles Corsair’s unusual approach to new spirits recipes, has been called a "milestone in the lit of American Distilling" by spirits writer Matthew Rowley.
This doesn’t mean they are going to slow down on innovation. They are working hard on finding whiskies and other spirits that “no one has done before.” What is their favorite creation? According to Andrew, “whatever we have just done.”
They invite all their fellow alumni to come down to the distillery and sample their latest, favorite, spirited innovation.
Back
It wasn’t the first time Darek had called Andrew out. That was in 9th grade when Andrew and Darek both started at USN. They sat next to each other in the first class of the day. Darek insulted Andrew’s argyle socks. A man “does not insult or even notice another man’s socks,” says Andrew.
As Darek remembers the moment, “In life you have to be brutally honest.”
Generally, though, the class of ’92 wasn’t the sort to judge sartorial choices …or much else.
“Our class wasn’t socially regimented,” says Andrew. “You couldn’t easily embarrass yourself…we were a very laid back, casual, ‘hippiesh’ group where quirks were expected rather than ‘looked at.’”
For both Darek and Andrew, favorite memories are Ultimate Frisbee, hacky sack, and hanging out on the front steps listening to fellow students play guitar. Andrew can’t remember a single teacher who wasn’t important to his development. “They all provided value and guidance.”
After USN, Andrew went first to Tufts and then transferred to Rice University in Houston. There he double majored in ecology (with an evolutionary biology focus) and anthropology (with an archeology focus). Darek went to Hampshire College, where he majored in computer graphics.
After college Darek went to work in his family’s construction business, and Andrew worked with dotcom projects. “I like the challenge of starting companies,” says Andrew.
It was during that period Darek first began home-brewing beer, wine, and sake before moving into distilling.
Darek went on to get training at the Siebel Brewing Institute and then the Bruichladdich Distilling Academy in Islay, Scotland. “Bruichladdich’s innovative spirits were infectious” and would heavily influence the creative ethos of Corsair.
Starting Corsair has been particularly gratifying. Comparing it to his earlier ventures, Andrew said, “It is kind of hard to get people excited about a secure web connection.”
Now, especially since they have taken over the old Yazoo space in the Marathon Motor works building that boasts a taproom as well as their distillery, it's easy to get people excited. “This is a fun place to show off what we do. People can see the process and taste the product.”
Corsair’s new space also gives them the capacity to create new spirits—they just won Whisky Magazine’s Innovator of the Year award. It is a chance to push the boundaries of what a whisky or other spirits can be. “We have ADD and are always trying to do something new and different,” comments Darek.
Andrew adds, “As soon as we are done with one thing, we’re onto another unusual project.”
They are both interested in flavor over alcohol and have never been big drinkers. This is reflected in their mutual appreciation of Scotch, which Andrew describes as a drink to savor rather than “run through.”
Darek calls it a “challenging but worthwhile spirit.”
When they have the time, they also both enjoy landscape photography and hiking. Andrew has just gotten to the point—after working seven days a week for longer than he cares to remember—that he can start to experience weekends again. The new-found time has also allowed him to adopt a full grown golden / Lab mix named Eden.
Darek enjoys writing in his spare time. His first book, Alt Whiskeys, which chronicles Corsair’s unusual approach to new spirits recipes, has been called a "milestone in the lit of American Distilling" by spirits writer Matthew Rowley.
This doesn’t mean they are going to slow down on innovation. They are working hard on finding whiskies and other spirits that “no one has done before.” What is their favorite creation? According to Andrew, “whatever we have just done.”
They invite all their fellow alumni to come down to the distillery and sample their latest, favorite, spirited innovation.
