Meet the founders of BWS, Da’Mon and Ricky. Although they have both walked two completely different paths of life, whiskey has brought them together. Ricky was born and raised in Richmond, VA, and Da’Mon was born and raised in Virginia Beach, VA. Thanks to a mutual friend (thanks Chris), Ricky and Damon met in 2021 while in a Virginia ABC line waiting for bourbon.

Da’Mon was already running a private barrel group, but was looking for a change. Ricky called him expressing how much he wanted to do a barrel pick and as fate has it, Brown Water Select was born.

Today, the two have founded BWS on the principles of only selecting the barrels that meet their standards, and releasing them at an ethical cost. They have selected and released over 40 barrels, collaborating with brands like Old Forester, Buffalo Trace, Nashville Barrel Company, Old Louisville Whiskey, Rare Character Starlight Distillery, and many more. At the end of the day, Ricky and Da’Mon just want to bring people together with whiskey, just like the two of them were brought together