“When it’s 120 degrees in the building and we’re lugging 100 gallon jugs around, shuttling barrels around, you know it’s all very much a labor of love,’’ said Dave, wiping his brow.
The craft distilling movement that’s booming across the country is making inroads in Massachusetts, not just in Roxbury but across the state, as well.
Bully Boy’s small batch spirits are a complement to the obsession with local products, from artisanal cheese to heirloom fruit and meat. It’s also a throwback to a tradition upon which the country was built. Colonial America’s economy was largely rooted in distilling, thanks to settlers who brought their customs to the New World. It was also a handy way to make use of excess crops.
The Willises grew up on a fourth-generation working farm in Sherborn. (Bully Boy was their great-grandfather’s horse.) They made cider as kids and hard cider when they got older. Then Will went into commercial real estate in Washington, D.C., and Dave worked in elder care in South Carolina. But in one way, they never strayed far from the farm.
“Dave and I always talked about forming a business, but we needed a catalyst,’’ said Will, 38, who’s older by four years. “We always had a hobby interest in distilling; our careers were at a crossroads. We wanted to do something we were passionate about, and as a bonus, we could incorporate the family farm. Our ongoing goal is to source as much as we can from the farm.’’
They currently use organic ingredients, like wheat from Maine for their whiskey and vodka. In the future, they’d like to make apple brandy with fruit from the family’s orchards.
