Evan Sledge

Evan Sledge founded Whiskey Morning Coffee in 2018 after developing the business concept in a class at Texas Christian University. He and his partners raised $320 to launch the company, which ages green coffee beans in used bourbon barrels from Texas distilleries. Based in Tolar, the business now exceeds $1 million in annual sales through wholesale and direct channels.

Sledge brought more than two decades of CPG operations experience to the venture. He had most recently served as VP of Operations at New Primal, a natural foods company in Glenview, Illinois, where he managed manufacturing and supply chain. That background in scaling consumer products helped him build the coffee company without outside funding-it remains fully bootstrapped.

Growth has been almost entirely organic, driven by word of mouth and the product's unique barrel-aged flavor. Sledge continues to handle operations himself, experimenting with new aging methods and planning limited releases. The brand has gained regional recognition through events like the GO TEXAN Country Festival and features in Texas publications, but there's no big marketing budget-just a product that sells itself.