Alumnus shares story on starting distillery brand: Lone Light Spirits

“Being able to hold something, be proud of it and tell every single little thing about it is something I’ve always been drawn to,” Lordon said.  

Lordon grew up in the Rochester Hills area and went to Central Michigan University from 2006 to 2010 where he studied logistics management and marketing. He had moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and built guitars for Gibson for four years before moving back to New Hudson with his wife to start working in the distilling industry.  

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“I’ve got my wife and two young kids,” Lordon said. “I started this company after working in the craft distilling industry for about eight years.”

Lordons’ distillery brand is called Lone Light Spirits.

Music and manufacturing guitars

Lordon was involved in music at CMU, as he had a few friends that were involved in bands at the time and played music himself. The community at CMU was perfect, Lordon said.

“I was really focused on where I was going to be in life and how I was gonna get there, which is how I ended up at Gibson guitar,” Lordon said. “I was just learning what I could, soaking it all up while I was there and taking it into my career.   

“It was such a perfect location for someone like me, not only for the school itself, but a lot of my peers were very focused and driven." 

Lordon said graduating college was a fresh start for him and an opportunity to forge his own path in music.

With Nashville being named Music City, Lordon figured there were opportunities for him. After living there for a few months, he was able to work at Gibson which happened to be him favorite guitar brand.     

After realizing there wasn’t really a clear pathway within the company, Lordon said he ended up with a job as an assistant tour manager on a rock band tour.  

“I didn’t really make much money but I got to see the country, get more involved with music and meet some pretty cool people,” he said.  

Journey to creating a distillery

After moving back to Michigan, Lordon said he was drawn to the distilling industry.  

"I really wanted to make booze," Lordon said.     

Lordon said he applied to as many places as he could and heard back from nobody.  

The last place he had applied to was Two James Spirits in Detroit, which opened in November of 2013.

They hired him even though they didn’t have a position for him.

“I was probably working 10 to 15 hours a week making $10 an hour just pushing a broom around,” Lordon said. “I had manufacturing from Gibson and my degree from CMU, but as far as making spirits goes, I had no experience.”  

Lordon worked his way up to head distiller in November of 2016 and held that position until he left and started his own distillery in January of 2022.

“From making vodka, gin, whiskey, absinthe and rum and running the business as production leader, everything was learned on the job,” he said.  

Although he doesn’t work there now, Lordon said he still keeps in touch with some people from Two James Spirits.  

"I had the opportunity to wear a lot of hats and learn about all aspects of how a craft distillery operates," Lordon said. "I learned that this industry takes a perfect combination of science, art, hard work and experimentation to create premium unique products."   

Consumer to creator

Lordon said shifting from working in a distillery to creating one was possibly the most difficult thing he’s ever gone through.  

Working at Two James Spirits, he knew what to expect, had some form of control and became comfortable with the job.  

“When I shifted towards starting my own business, I realized especially with the spirits industry … I was forced to really learn a lot of new ideas, concepts and exposed myself to so many things that I never expected,” Lordon said.  

He would often take a second and think about what he was doing.  

“I would say 'Why am I doing this, this is crazy' and would think about whether or not I was having any fun,” Lordon said. “I would have maybe five difficult days but then something exciting happens, like getting my first label design.”  

Lordon said he struggled at first but the small victories helped push him to where he is today.  

Manufacturing is different, depending on the type of spirit he said. Currently, Lordon distills his own gin and vodka. He is also sourcing barrels of bourbon from another distillery. He distills vodka to corn base, which removes the gluten.

The vodka gets carbon filtered, removing impurities, leaving a smooth and neutral vodka with a hint of vanilla, he said.    

For the gin, he uses 12 different botanicals that are vapor-infused during the distillation process.  

Lordon said he combines the flavors of more wintry-type botanicals with the vibrant and citrusy flavors of springtime. Similarly, he said he takes whiskey barrels, empties them, and puts the whiskey in mead barrels to age.

“Mead barrels are essentially honey wine,” Lordon said. “I put the bourbon in that barrel, which then causes the flavor to be slightly altered to perfectly complement the natural flavor of the bourbon.” 

Lordon said he has received plenty of support.   

“My wife (Erica Lordon) is, I would say, has been the most supportive,” Lordon said. “She has a ton of faith, and she's shown that she has a lot of faith in me, which has made this whole process so much more feasible.”  

Lordon said his dad has also helped with finances.  

“My dad has a background in accounting so he has been hugely helpful in developing the business plans and pro forma financials, taking my ideas and putting them into formats, measuring our success and assisting me in finding out what we need to get the company up and running,” he said.    

Lordon appreciates all the people in his corner pushing for his products and brand to exist.   

“It's about getting the product in front of people … educating them and letting them know that this brand exists,” Lordon said.  “I’m only one person. ... I’m the only employee managing all the bottling, production and sales all by myself.”          

Launch and distribution 

Lordon said awareness is the biggest part of distributing his products as of right now.  

Lordon wants to launch into distribution first with the three main products. 

“I certainly plan on expanding whiskey selections … distilling my own whiskey from grain,” Lordon said.

The barrels won't be ready for years, he said.  

In Michigan, a tasting room can be compared to a cocktail bar, Lordon said, with a separate type of liquor license. The production building is located at 1507 Jarvis St. Ferndale, MI.     

In terms of expanding selling locations, Lordon said his first step is to make a push in Michigan where he is distributing through a company called Imperial Beverage.  

“So right now the effort is to get the word out, get on store shelves and not only bar shelves but work our products into their cocktail menus,” Lordon said. “The goal is to own my own backyard and really have a presence in Michigan.”

Currently, Lone Light Spirits are available across the state in over 100 locations. In Mount Pleasant, bottles are available for purchase at Ric's Food Center, Freddie's Tavern, Wood Shop Social and The Barn Door and Restaurant.      

He would also like to expand to selling products out of state in a few years.      

Personal favorites and finishing touches

Lordon's favorite drink from his brand is whiskey.  

“This unique whiskey that I choose to enjoy neat does extremely well in any kind of cocktail,” he said. “All my products are very versatile so they can be enjoyed in many different ways.”  

Lordon said that branding was important to him while coming up with a name and illustrations within his products. He wanted the name to have a vague quality to it.  

“When people think of a lone light, everybody might have a different image of what that could be, whether it’s a lighthouse, a bonfire in the woods at night, a porch light, the moon … everybody has a different image that comes to mind,” Lordon said. “Just like that, these spirits are all intentionally versatile and can be enjoyed however each individual likes to enjoy them.”    

Lordon said he also wanted to include Michigan easter eggs to be hidden in each of the labels. These easter eggs include:

• The vodka has the lighthouse illustration and the color gray, which is the color of the Great Lakes on an overcast winter day.
• The bourbon has the moose illustration inspired by the moose that's on the Michigan state flag.
• The gin has the robin illustration on it which is inspired by the state bird of Michigan. The color of the label is also robin's egg blue.  The proof of the gin is 84 as a tribute to the '84 Detroit Tigers who won the World Series.

“There's a lot of little hidden Michigan things that are cool to hear and tell people about,” Lordon said. “Having these hidden meanings are something that one might not have picked up on if you weren’t paying attention, or certainly if you weren’t from Michigan.”  

Bottles can be ordered by special request from local liquor stores through the stores Imperial Beverage representative. The vodka retails for $24.99, the gin retails for $29.99 and the bourbon retails for $49.96.  

For more information on the locations that carry these products, use the "Find Our Spirits" tool on the Lone Light Spirits website.