Andy is a graduate of Southern Methodist University with a double major in mathematics and finance. He started his career as a private equity analyst and investment banker. Andy’s executive experience, combined with a passion for manufacturing and brand-building, fueled his transition to management and operations at the distillery. In 2014, Rieger quit his job in Dallas and moved back to Kansas City to take a leap of faith and fully dive into resurrecting the J.Rieger & Co. Distillery. Rieger completed a $20 million historic redevelopment for our company while being the leading force in reviving one of Kansas City’s cherished historic neighborhoods, the Electric Park District. He was named both a “Next Gen Leader” and “Kansas City’s Power100” by the KC Business Journal and “Entrepreneur of the Year” by the KC Chamber.

Ryan is a lifelong bartender and restaurateur with expertise in the fields of wine, spirits, and mixology. A Certified Sommelier, as well as a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) from the Society of Wine Educators, in 2012 Ryan became the first person to complete the Bar Master Certification from Beverage Alcohol Resource in New York City. In 2013, IMBIBE Magazine named him Bartender of the Year. He has also been a finalist in the Vinos de Jerez Cocktail Competition and the Angostura Bitters Global Cocktail Challenge.A co-founder of the Paris of the Plains Cocktail Festival, Ryan’s cocktails have been featured in top-tier publications including GQ, Esquire, Food & Wine, and Vogue. In 2014, Ryan partnered with Andy Rieger to revive J. Rieger & Co.Today, his duties include working with NathanPerry, our master distiller, to develop new products and whiskey blends, promoting our brand both nationally and internationally, and leading education within our teams

Nathan is a graduate of University of Missouri-Kansas City with a BS in Biology. After a short stint teaching, he followed his true passion to Boulevard Brewing Company, where he headed up the microbiology department for five years. There he immersed himself in the complexity of the production process, with oversight of developing new beers, refining yeast propagation, and quality assurance. Distillation was a natural next step, and he joined J. Rieger & Co. in 2015. He studied whiskey production under Dave Pickerell, former master distiller of MakersMark, and gin production with Tom Nichol, the former master distiller of Tanqueray. In 2022, Nathan was named Master Distiller by the Gin Guild in London. Today, Nathan leads a team of distillers and oversees an ever-growing portfolio of award-winning spirits.

Tom Nichol has been in the distilling industry since the 1970s and has an unrivaled knowledge in spirit making. He was master distiller at Tanqueray until 2015 and is considered one of the top gin experts in the world. Tom received the lifetime achievement award at the Gin Guild inLondon, only the second one awarded in history. He founded the gin program at J. Rieger & Co. in July 2015 with the launch of our Midwestern Dry Gin and continues to contribute his expertise to our spirits program while training and educating our distilling team and acting as an active brand ambassador and partner in the company.

One of the foremost beverage experts in the country, Steve isa dedicated degustation expert with 30+ years in the food and beverage business. He teaches, lectures, consults, and writes internationally about wine, beer, spirits, sake, and other beverages.He is also an acclaimed restaurant and bar consultant, known for designing highly creative beverage programs around the world.He has been Santé Magazine’s Spirits Professional of the Year, Cheers Beverage Innovator of the Year, and Best Bar Mentor at the Spirited Awards at the 2012 Tales of theCocktail. Steve is an active partner, mentor, and brand ambassador for J. Rieger & Co.

Dave was a legend in the history of bourbon and American whiskey. Dave left us far too soon in the fall of 2018, but his knowledge, experience, and wisdom will be passed on through our Rieger family for generations to come. After attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, he went on to receive a master’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of Louisville. Dave was the Master Distiller and COO for 14 years at Maker’s Mark before leaving to begin his own consulting company in 2009. He went on to help start some of the most influential and successful American whiskey brands of the last decade. Affectionately known as “Pick,” Dave was the first person to join the Rieger team as a consultant; he was made a partner to help with every element of the startup, leaving behind a cherished legacy to reach for the stars with ingenuity, grace and excellence.