Whiskey and War

Whiskey ANDWar

John Koko: Horse Soldier turned entrepreneur

From Afghanistan to DeLand and now on the way to a new, entirely different campus in Kentucky, John Koko ’86 continues his “everyman story” in uncommon ways.

BY JACK ROTH

John Koko has been on an incredible journey. From elite warrior to elite bourbon maker, he has approached his life and career with grit, determination and the ability to adapt, traits seen in many Stetson alumni.

“My life has been a series of God winks,” says Koko ’86, who, during a seven-year career with the U.S. Army, was a Ranger, a Green Beret and an intelligence officer. “I’m a faith-driven rough guy. You don’t send guys who aren’t rough to do rough work. I always say if I’d been born in a different time, I would’ve been one of those gun-toting preachers.”

Now, he’s president of American Freedom Distillery.

American Freedom Distillery was founded in 2016 by Koko and fellow retired Green Berets Tyler Garner, Rob Schaefer, Scott Neil, Mark Nutsch and Bob Pennington. The veteran-owned and veteran-operated artisan distillery is located in St. Petersburg (not far from Stetson University College of Law) and produces Horse Soldier Bourbon, which Koko describes as a “Triple A: Authentic, AllAmerican and Award-winning.”

SOLDIER’S STORY

The American Freedom Distillery story didn’t start in 2016, as much of the brotherhood that created it was forged in fire during the first days after the 9/11 attacks, when the United States responded with a daring insertion of small teams of Green Berets into northern Afghanistan. For one special ops team, the region’s mountainous terrain necessitated engagements on wild Afghan horses, thus earning the nickname “Horse Soldiers.” Despite often being cut off from communica-

Much of the American Freedom Distillery effort is a salute to military veterans, particularly Horse Soldiers. Among the future highlights is the sprawling distribution center/museum/interactive experience taking shape in Somerset, Kentucky.

tions with command headquarters and outnumbered 40 to 1, the Horse Soldiers fought in a series of intense battles side by side with militia allies and successfully captured the city of Mazar-i-Sharif from the Taliban. Their story inspired a book (“Horse Soldiers”), a movie (“12 Strong”), a documentary (“Legion of Brothers”) and a monument that can be seen at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City.

Today, the team is retired from the military, and now its mission is to serve Horse Soldier Bourbon — their legacy in a bottle. The bourbon is sold in bottles pressed in molds made from steel salvaged from the World Trade Center site.

To make that happen, however, the team had to use skills mastered in the Special Forces, including the scouting of locations, getting to know the locals and developing a plan of action to achieve an objective. This time, instead of battling the Taliban, they battled bureaucracy, the real estate market and the challenges of finding a home for a 19-foot-tall commercial still.

Koko and his wife, Elizabeth, put up the first $5 million to start the business as a way to help others in his Operational Detachment Alpha Team 595.

Fast-forward five years and American Freedom Distillery has won numerous awards for making some of the finest bourbon in the world and offers an immersive distillery experience in the Urban Stillhouse that encompasses two stylish bars, educators and bourbon-inspired dining.

“The bottom line is we make really good bourbon,” asserts Koko, who also speaks fluent Arabic and Spanish. “There’s nothing more American than bourbon. It’s audacious and bold. Ours is not a ‘military’ brand. Instead, it’s an ultra-premium, lifestyle brand for both men and women.”

LEGACY CREATION

American Freedom Distillery’s small-batch stills in St. Petersburg create acclaimed bourbon and artisanal rums, vodka and gins. Those efforts are aided by a collaborative distilling process at Middle West Spirits in Columbus, Ohio, which gives American Freedom access to multiple stills, invaluable insight and experience from world-class operators. In addition, Koko and his team are in the process of creating an entirely different legacy — a $160 million, 250-acre distribution center, museum and interactive experience in Somerset, Kentucky.

The sprawling “campus” will become the 19th stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, a program sponsored by the Kentucky Distillers’ Association to promote the bourbon whiskey industry in Kentucky. The campus also will house a high-end hotel with cabins, horse stables, two concert venues, a village, a distilling area and distillery rackhouses. Further, the plan is to make the campus a net-zero property with zero carbon emissions.

“The expectation is for about 200,000 [people] to visit from around the world every year to see the attraction and learn about our American journey, the everyman story and how we make award-winning bourbon,” Koko says. “Suffice to say, this is the biggest thing we’ve tried to accomplish with the company.”

Capital fundraising for the project has, so far, been successful, thanks to several retired U.S. Army and government personnel who have invested to support their former colleagues. An architectural firm has already been selected following an international search, and a firm that specializes in designed experiences for visitors has been hired. Those two firms will collaborate with American Freedom to create an immersive, interactive experience.

Koko hopes the project will be completed by June 2024, at which point he will be 65.

“My days of making whiskey are over because it’s backbreaking work, but those years it took us to get to this point were invaluable,” he says. “We went from a bunch of people crafting bourbon to explosive growth in the ultra-premium category. It’s a wonderful thing to leave a legacy, and the legacy we’re leaving is to inspire people to believe that anything is possible.”

STETSON DAYS

A young, married soldier at the time, Koko remembers Stetson as being simultaneously challenging, embracing and comfortable. He had gone to high school in St. Petersburg and joined the military before arriving in DeLand in 1982.

“I felt part of a community there, and I also had nowhere to hide,” he reflects. “I had been a notoriously lazy student, but my professors forced me to show up at classes every day and learn. I got so much out of that experience. I really came into my own.”

Koko studied art history along with economics — receiving an economics degree — and believes that his liberal arts background gave him balance and enabled him to be “part diplomat and part warrior.”

He also cites being fortunate to have really strong leaders around him, and he learned that a view is different from a vision, and not to let other views block your own.

As for his leap from Green Beret to whiskey maker, Koko considers it is all part of his American journey, his everyman story.

“As soldiers, we lived our lives in the shadows, but this was a chance for us to create a legacy for our families,” he says. “Everyone will know we made an authentic, lasting product. We’re hanging our reputations on this, so hopefully people will talk about it in a positive way for a long time.

“Our culture is the quiet professionals. We had thrilling experiences we really don’t talk about. We do a lot for charities but don’t really talk about that, either. You don’t quit serving because you start making whiskey; you just find other ways to serve. And it’s never about just one person; it’s about all of us.”