Adam von Gootkin

Living Proof tells the story of how, in just a few short years, Connecticut natives Adam and Pete took Onyx Spirits Company from a start-up concept born in a restored Civil War-era factory to a multimillion-dollar, award-winning spirit distillery by breaking rules, learning from failures, and challenging the status quo.Business lessons distilled from the mind of a moonshiner include:Finding your purpose in business (and life).Setting goals, reaching goals—then setting more goals.Founding a small business and growing it into a big company.Building a highly unique brand.Making money out of thin air (almost).Adam’s ancestors were arrested in 1864 for tax evasion on a shipment of moonshine bound for Canada, resulting in the collapse of Chafee & Co. Distilling. Undaunted by their demise, the family opened the grand Chafee’s Hotel in Middletown, Connecticut, at the dawn of the Roaring twenties, hosting an opulent and infamous speakeasy. Rumor has it the password was “Onyx.”