Stephen Paul – Founder, Whiskey Del Bac, Hamilton Distillers
Stephen Paul grew up traipsing around the Sonoran Desert. After teaching environmental education for eight years, he attended two years of architecture school and restored multiple adobe homes in Tucson’s Barrio Viejo.
For 30 years, he and his wife Elaine, founded and ran Arroyo Design, a nationally recognized and much-published furniture design and manufacturing company that specialized in the visually beautiful but challenging mesquite wood native to the Sonoran Desert.
In 2011, Paul and his daughter Amanda founded Hamilton Distillers, makers of Whiskey Del Bac, based on the premise of making a truly Southwestern American single-malt whiskey, using a mesquite fire to dry malt instead of a peat fire. He recently stepped aside as manager of Hamilton Distillers, bringing in Ken Cheeseman as chief executive officer but remains president of the board of directors and is heavily involved in the distillery’s day-to-day operations.
His community service involvement includes serving on multiple municipal commissions and nonprofit boards.
