Meet Mike Blash | Husband / Dad / Owner Tin City Distillery

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mike Blash and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mike, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I was lucky enough to start this business with some amazing partners 10 years ago, without them Tin City Distillery would be a memory by now.
I was bartending full time in Laguna Beach and had an idea for a spirits brand. I created some mockups of the product and some of the customers at the places I was working at encouraged me to start a distillery. At that time my wife and I were going through the in-vitro process to have a child and we had absolutely no extra money. So the chances were pretty slim of starting one on my own.
One of my friends was in the process of starting a brandy distillery in Paso Robles. I reached out to him hoping they would be able to create my product for me and he invited me to become a partner. Thankfully my wife was the person who convinced me to invest the rest of our meager savings and go for it. To be honest, she deserves a ton of praise for doing that. At the time I did not feel confident about my abilities to own a distillery.
A decade later and I’m still at it every day. My role in the business has greatly expanded over the years to include quite a bit more responsibilities. And I still feel lucky, all the time.

What should our readers know about your business?
Our distillery in Paso Robles is a true labor of love. We work hard every day to create some amazing experiences with our guests. Starting a distillery is challenging, none of us were prepared for the amount of regulatory burdens that encompass starting a distillery in California. Add this to all of the challenges encountered when starting a small business with little funds and you’ll understand where we came from. Some of the lessons I’ve learned are :
Treat people with respect, employees are your biggest investment, work hard, create time off to balance yourself, ask questions every day. It’s certainly not easy, but the journey is worth every step.
I want the world to know that our brand comes from a place where hard work, family and friends are valued. We love what we do and try to show that joy in every product we create.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would show them Tin City and the Central Coast. It’s been said that Paso Robles is a drinking community with a farming problem and it’s true. The area around our distillery is amazing, there are a ton of places to visit locally in Paso. Some of my favorite restaurants are, Junction, Della’s, Taste, and Allegretto.
Visiting Sensorio is an amazing experience, and there are tons of amazing shows to see at Vina Robles Amphitheater. . I love to drive out to the coast and visit the San Simeon area. And there is something truly special about hiking through the Lost Hills.
Tin City is like an adult Disneyland, there are over 25 family owned wineries, our distillery, a brewery, cider house and more spread along 30 acres or so. You can literally park your car and wander through the area all day and evening. During the weekends there are often concerts as well. We also have some fun events through the year such as the world famous Tin City Forklift Parade each winter.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My partners and family. Without their continuing support this endeavor would be worthless. I wake up every day feeling lucky because I get to be a part of their lives. I have five partners at the distillery, their mentorship, love and help is what makes Tin City such an amazing experience. My wife and I have been together for almost thirty years, she is amazing and has been the biggest light in my life for a long time. Her encouragement is the reason I took that giant risk and helped to start a distillery. I’m eternally grateful to her for pushing me to accomplish things.

Website: https://www.TinCityDistillery.com

Instagram: @TinCityDistillery

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/93442279/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tincitydistillery/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wine-shine-and-tin-city-distillery-paso-robles

Image Credits
These photos are all my own!