Fighting Nazis, Making Whiskey, and Honoring The Men Who Invented Mountain Recreation I 10th Mountain I 41

American Operator

In the heart of Vail Valley, Ryan Thompson and Sean McNeill run 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirit Co., a distillery paying tribute to the legendary 10th Mountain Division — soldiers who fought Nazis, came home, and laid the foundation for modern skiing and mountain recreation.

From bartending in small-town Colorado to building a nationally recognized whiskey brand, Ryan and Sean share the grit, hospitality, and entrepreneurial spirit that drive their work — and how honoring history can guide the future of business.

They Talk About:
🔴 Building a whiskey brand from the ground up while staying true to your roots.
🔴 The lessons of service, grit, and perseverance learned from the 10th Mountain Division.
🔴 Why running a business means working in service of something bigger than yourself.
🔴 How Main Street businesses preserve history, culture, and community.
🔴 The hardest lessons learned from failure — and why they pale in comparison to the challenges faced by those who came before them.

Real stories. Real ownership. Real lessons from the field.
This is American Operator.

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