Frank August Distillery

Frank August is a Kentucky whiskey brand built on a simple premise: hand-select exceptional barrels of Kentucky straight whiskey, blend them in small batches, and let the liquid speak for itself. Since taking home the 2025 IWSC Bourbon Trophy, the brand has become one of the most decorated non-distiller producers working in bourbon today.

History & Heritage

Frank August was founded in 2022 by Johnathan Crocker, a former fashion executive who serves as the brand's CEO and co-founder. No public record identifies a sole legal owner or parent company beyond Crocker and his founding partners, and no acquisition or ownership-transfer history has surfaced since the brand's launch. As of July 2026, Frank August remains privately held by its founders.

Frank August is a non-distiller producer, meaning it sources and blends Kentucky straight whiskey rather than distilling it on site. The brand has not disclosed which Kentucky distillery or distilleries supply its whiskey, nor has it published mash bill details for any release. No physical distillery address, still information, or public production facility has been identified. Official product pages describe each expression as "distilled, aged & bottled in Kentucky," language consistent with sourcing rather than in-house distillation.

The Whiskey

The flagship release, Frank August Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, blends 10 to 15 hand-selected barrels per batch and bottles at 100 proof. It won the 2025 IWSC Bourbon Trophy with a score of 98 points and a Gold Outstanding medal, a result Food & Wine covered as a top finish among bourbons at that competition.

Above the flagship sits Frank August Single Barrel Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, drawn from a release of 15 single barrels aged 6.1 years and bottled between 114.6 and 125.4 proof.

The brand's Case Study series showcases experimental finishes and small-batch formats. Case Study: 01 Mizunara Japanese Oak Bourbon, the series opener, finished in Mizunara Japanese oak barrels. Case Study: 02 Toasted Barrel Bourbon followed with a toasted-barrel finish. Case Study: 03 Winter Cover Rye 3 Barrel Batch marked Frank August's first rye release, built from nine unique three-barrel batches at 106.25 proof, and was named Best Rye Whiskey at the 2024 IWSC. Case Study: 04 The Oloroso Experiment, released in late 2024, finished a Kentucky straight bourbon in Oloroso sherry casks at 106.25 proof. Case Study: 05 Wheated Reserve 5 Barrel Batch, the brand's debut wheated bourbon, blends 6-plus and 7-plus year Kentucky straight wheated bourbon across eight five-barrel batches and earned Double Gold and a 97-point score at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, along with a Best of Class finalist nod.

Frank August Small Batch Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey rounds out the current lineup as a permanent core rye, built in 10 to 15 barrel batches at 100 proof and awarded a 2025 IWSC Gold medal with a 95-point score.

Why It Matters

Frank August has compressed an unusual amount of competition recognition into a short window. Food & Wine reported that four separate Frank August expressions scored at least 95 points at the 2025 IWSC, and the flagship bourbon topped the field entirely. For a brand built on sourcing and blending rather than distilling, that consistency reflects real skill in barrel selection and batching, the craft that defines a non-distiller producer's reputation.