088 | Andrew Borenzweig | Bringing Luxury to The American Whiskey Category with The Beverly High Rye

Happy 2026. This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS. A Deep-Dive Analysis of This Episode is Available at maffeodrinks.com 

In this episode, host Chris Maffeo talks to Andrew Borenzweig, founder of Beverly High Rye, who shares his journey of creating a modern, luxury-focused American whiskey that breaks away from traditional frontier or rustic imagery.

Inspired by the elegance of Beverly Hills, Andrew crafted a whiskey that blends rye’s bold spice with bourbon’s smoothness, presented in sleek, decanter-style bottles.

He initially concentrated on securing placements in prestigious California venues—such as Nobu, Mastro’s, Cipriani, and the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons—to build brand credibility and visibility.

This strategic on-trade focus laid a strong foundation before carefully expanding into off-trade channels like select Pavilions stores.

Throughout the episode, Andrew emphasizes the importance of brand authenticity, founder-led advocacy, and a California-centric rollout as key drivers of Beverly High Rye’s success. Additionally, he touches on leveraging top on-trade outlet groups to facilitate potential international expansion, referencing Nobu Tokyo’s interest in the brand.

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  Timestamps:

  00:00 Introduction and Podcast Overview

  00:29 Guest Introduction: Andrew Bornenzweig

  00:58 The Inspiration Behind Beverly High Rye

  02:30 Marketing and Brand Positioning

  06:44 Expanding to New Markets

  11:05 Product Portfolio and Collaborations

  17:21 On-Trade vs. Off-Trade Strategies

  24:50 Final Thoughts and Advice for Brand Owners

This episode is brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS, an Advisory helping drinks leaders execute bottom-up growth while managing stakeholder expectations. You can get in touch at bottomup@maffeodrinks.com