Four Branches Bourbon was named one of three winners in a national small business contest hosted by Fox Business, earning a $25,000 prize and a featured spotlight on FOX Nation.
“We always say, bourbon is a reflective spirit. That’s why we say sip to remember, slow it down, take time to remember those good times,” cofounder Mike Trott told the Washington Examiner.
Four Branches Bourbon was cofounded in 2023 by four friends who served in different branches of the U.S. military: Mike Franco, a Marine Corps veteran; Harold Underdown, a Navy veteran; RJ Casey, an Army veteran; and Trott, an Air Force veteran. The business was created as a tribute to those who “serve in the shadows.”
Franco created the brand to honor “a very close friend of mine” who died in the line of duty, he said.
His friend, Gregory R. Wright, Jr., was a contractor for the Central Intelligence Agency before his death. Wright was honored with a star on the CIA Memorial Wall at the CIA headquarters.
“I wanted to create originally just a tribute barrel to those men on that wall,” Franco said. He continued, “They are the unsung shadows that do things, and they’re men that do things and have done things that the country may never know, but their stories help shape the fabric of this country.”
“Our DNA has really come out of the military,” Franco said.
Franco said their military experience is what helped them stand out in the competition.
“I think what resonated was the truth of our story, the background of why we started it,” Franco said.
“Almost everybody knows a veteran or has had a family member or a high school friend or somebody that has served in some capacity, and people identify with that.”
Four Branches Bourbon plans to use the $25,000 prize to expand its production line, continue barreling, and go toward the next run of its flagship product, Founders Reserve bourbon.
The Founders Reserve is a four-grain Kentucky Straight Bourbon, aged a minimum of five years in charred new American white oak barrels, according to a press release.
Four Branches Bourbon also announced the release of its Liberty Reserve, a limited-edition commemorative bourbon made to honor America’s 250th this July.
Only 1,776 bottles were made, a tribute to the founding of the United States in 1776. It delivers rich notes of dark caramel, honey, vanilla, toasted marshmallow, dark fruit, and warm oak, according to a press release.
“The eyes almost rolled back in our head, and we’re like, ‘This is phenomenal, phenomenal bourbon,’” Trott said.
But for the team, “The brand is more [than just] about bourbon; it’s about a message,” Trott said.
Through their Giveback program, “Beyond the Branches,” which started since the company’s founding, every bottle sold helps support veterans and first-responder organizations. So far, they’ve raised $650,000 in donations.
“We say it on every bottle, ‘serve honorably,’ and we say to drink honorably,” Franco said.
Franco said it’s part of a broader message to “sip to remember” those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and to bring light veteran suicide.
“If you’re the last one, don’t dishonor the memories of men, women who didn’t make it home. More importantly, don’t dishonor your own memory, and that’s why we say, and we believe, let’s quit drinking to forget, and let’s sip to remember,” Franco said.
“Let’s sip to remember the good times, as well as those that didn’t come home.”
Trott said their goal is to raise $1 million for veteran charities, including Folds of Honor and Face the Fight, by May 2027.
“We’ve had bottles auctioned off for as high as $26,500 for one bottle, and it’s for those charities,” Trott said.
As part of Four Branches’s commitment to ending veteran suicide, the brand contributed to the production of Tame the Kraken, a feature-length documentary by Storybones Media and produced by Heidi Collins.
It tells the true story of a Royal Marine special operations veteran, Tim Crockett, and his 19-year-old son, Harrison, who completed a 48-day rowing expedition across the Pacific Ocean.
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The journey is a tribute to raise awareness of the mental health crisis affecting veteran communities, but also serves as a reminder this is a human issue.
“Our message to veterans or anybody suffering with mental health, where suicide is a thought: don’t do it. Just keep going forward. There’s a safe harbor somewhere, and we’re proud to be part of that film,” Trott said.
The Washington Examiner obtained a trailer of the documentary.
Tame the Kraken trailer (Credit: Storybones Media, production company; Heidi Collins, producer).
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Four Branches Bourbon is available for purchase on their website, and at local retailers and bars in various states.
The other two winners of the “Made in America” competition are Marilyn’s in Lakeside, Ohio, and TGU Home Solutions in Aberdeen, North Carolina — another veteran-owned business. FOX Nation’s small business special will air on Monday, June 8.
