Graham Hamblett: Dogfish is spirit that moves distiller
As a lead distiller at Dogfish Head Distilling Company, Graham Hamblett says his job is, in some ways, the culmination of all his interests, but it’s definitely not what he imagined he would do when he graduated from the University of New Hampshire in the late 1990s.
Hamblett jokes that his high school guidance counselor could have never foreseen what was in store for the distiller.
For a while, he contemplated culinary school, but he decided to pursue horticulture in college, planning to become a landscape designer.
His career path changed just before graduation, when Hamblett answered an ad for seasonal workers at an artisanal winery nearby.
“I got into it kind of by dumb luck,” he said. “I was in school at UNH my senior year, and I heard of a seasonal job at a local vineyard and winery. I could either do that or be landscaping, and that could wait, so I went to work, and I kind of learned on the job.”
Now, when Hamblett laces up his spark-proof boots to go to work, sometimes he wishes he had taken more science and chemistry in school, but after nearly 20 years of mulling, mashing, fermenting, blending and aging, Hamblett stays in good spirits.
That first year, he stuck around the winery after the spring and into the summer, then year-round, managing vines and learning the wine-making process. Within a few years, Hamblett said, the vineyard owner bought a 25-gallon potstill and he learned how to make wine into brandy.
From there, Hamblett said, he caught the distilling bug, and the vineyard owner installed a production still. With the new equipment, the vineyard and distillery began producing vodka and gin, and eventually, Hamblett mastered the craft and helped the little distillery become one of the top 100 in the country.
But after more than a decade at the same place, Hamblett was ready for a change when he saw the listing for a job distilling at Dogfish Head.
“I have always been a fan of Dogfish Head beers and saw a posting for a distiller, so I jumped on it,” Hamblett said. “After being in the same place for 15 years, it was time for a different commute in life.”
He brought his girlfriend, Annie, to Milton with him, but not long after, they returned north to get married in New Hampshire.
“We kind of created our own ‘destination wedding’ when we went back home,” the distiller said, chuckling.
In 2014, Hamblett began his tenure at Dogfish, working at the brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, where the distilling operation first took place in the cramped quarters upstairs.
Although he was already accustomed to life without sales tax in New Hampshire, Hamblett said he’s learned living in Delaware does have some perks.
“The water is warmer, the beaches are nicer, and winters are much more manageable,” Hamblett said. “We actually get a spring and fall here, as opposed to mud season in New Hampshire.”
Not long after he arrived, Dogfish moved its distillery to Milton, where Hamblett helps to produce the 80-proof Analog Vodka, culinary Compelling Gin and the continually hopped Whole Leaf Gin, which was inspired by their hop-heavy beers.
“We are working on carrying forward some of the products from the brewpub,” he said, noting the popular peanut butter vodka is slated to have a slight shift in flavor profile in Milton to become roasted peanut vodka. “We should have white rum and brown honey rum released within a couple of months.”
Beyond the signature spirits, Hamblett said the larger, established operation offers opportunities for collaboration and the freedom to be creative and patient.
“Everything here is kind of a group effort,” he said.
“You can always throw your two cents in. I’m lucky that Dogfish is an established business; when we put the liquor in the barrel we don’t feel the need to rush things,” Hamblett noted. “Only time will tell when the spirit is ready.”
