The Legend of Day One Danny
The story of “Day One” Danny Rodriguez is older than St. Augustine Distillery itself. It starts back in 2010, when co-founders Philip McDaniel and Mike Diaz visited Denver, Colorado to meet with craft whiskey legend Jake Norris. Norris, the founding distiller at Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey, helped the duo develop the mash bill that would eventually become the basis of Florida Straight Bourbon. He also offered them some free advice.
“You guys are going to need a MacGyver, someone who can fix anything,” he told McDaniel and Diaz. “In a 24/7 working distillery, things break every day. The sooner you repair whatever’s broken, the more whiskey you’ll make.”
A year later, in 2011, St. Augustine Distillery broke ground at the historic ice plant on Riberia St. As the crew finished restoring the building, and construction wound down, a young man approached the founders and asked a question: “do you need someone to stay on to help with the distilling?”
Both McDaniel and Diaz recognized the man from the site, and recalled that he was humble, talented, and an extremely hard worker. They had also taken Norris’ advice from a year ago to heart: find your MacGyver.
They didn’t need to. He found them.
That man, of course, was Danny, who earned himself a job on the spot as an apprentice distiller. He became the first hire in company history, even before Brendan Wheatley, the first head distiller in our history. Thus, he earned a nickname: “Day One Danny”.
Since then, Day One Danny has done it all, from making our award-winning bourbon to completely rebuilding our stripping and refining stills. He’s a loving husband, a wonderful father, a beloved member of our community, and an excellent fisherman!
“To us, Danny is a mentor, father, and a dedicated distiller. He always leads by example and his leadership is the recipe for our success.”
Join us for the release of D. Rodriguez & Sons Overproof Rum: Edition 2!
Join us at our distillery, 112 Riberia St., on Saturday, October 23rd for the release of D. Rodriguez & Sons Overproof Rum: Edition 2, a celebration of Danny’s dedication to St. Augustine Distillery over the past 7 years. Featuring bottle signings, merch giveaways, tastings, and more.
We invite everyone to raise a glass with us to toast the legend himself. Here’s to you, Danny!
