Johnson Brothers is thrilled to share that we are expanding our partnership with O’Shaughnessy Distilling and will soon be bringing Keeper’s Heart Whiskey to Wisconsin! Keeper’s Heart is a unique whiskey that brings together the best of Irish and American distilling traditions, expertly blended by world renowned Master Distiller, Brian Nation, to deliver a truly remarkable and versatile whiskey, made to be enjoyed neat, on the rocks and in cocktails.

Find out more about Keeper’s Heart Whiskey at osdistilling.com.

St. Paul, Minn. – October 20, 2020 – Matt Colasanti has joined Johnson Brothers as Vice President of National Accounts. Most recently, Matt was a Sr. Director on the Drive Team for E&J Gallo out of their Modesto, California headquarters. In this role, he led the development of sales technology for the future, program entry tools and helped lead their Account 360 initiative.

“Matt’s leadership and past experience will help us continue to drive improvement across our platform in both National Accounts and Category Development,” said Mark Hubler, President of Johnson Brothers.

Matt’s background in shopper insights and analytics, trade marketing, category development, e-commerce and strategic selling will help fuel continued sales and distribution growth in the retail chain channel for Johnson Brothers, and expand relationships with top multistate customers. Matt has his undergraduate degree and M.B.A from the University of Florida. He has spent the majority of his 20-year career working with E&J Gallo Winery and Johnson Brothers, building a strong reputation as a solution-oriented leader working across category buyers, operations and marketing departments with national account customers.

“I’m very excited to join Johnson Brothers after partnering with them for several years. They have a great reputation in the market and there is so much potential for continued growth,” added Matt.

Matt will report to AJ Atta, Vice President and General Manager, who will continue to lead the National Accounts division for Johnson Brothers and recently expanded his role to oversee Minnesota operations, succeeding Gary Stokvis, who is retiring at the end of the calendar year.

In addition, Nathan Johnson has been promoted to Director of Regional Chains. In this new role, Nathan will expand his responsibilities from leading the company’s Minnesota chain business to now partnering with branch chain directors and general managers across the country to drive local excellence in chain selling, service, category, activation and execution. Nathan is a graduate of Indiana University and started his career at Gallo Wine Company in Los Angeles where he was a Sales Representative and District Manager. Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota, he moved back in 2015 to join Johnson Brothers as a Brand Manager. Since then, Nathan has worked as a District Manager and on the National Accounts team overseeing sales, distribution, and category leadership with key suppliers and national and regional account chains across the country.

About Johnson Brothers:

Johnson Brothers is a family-owned wine, spirits, and beer distributor with headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota. The company has been providing world class service to customers throughout the United States since 1953 and now operates in 25 states. To learn about their story, services, and locations, please visit www.johnsonbrothers.com.

May 6, 2020 – Minneapolis, Minn. – Tattersall Distilling, Du Nord Craft Spirits and Brother Justus Whiskey Company, are collaborating with distributor Johnson Brothers and local grocers Lunds & Byerlys, Cub Foods, Hy-Vee and Kowalskis to donate more than 1 million meals to Second Harvest Heartland this May. The meals are being funded through the proceeds of 60,000 bottles of All Hands MN hand sanitizer, made available at these grocery stores across Minnesota beginning tomorrow, May 7.

Second Harvest Heartland has been hit hard during the Covid-19 pandemic, with demand increasing sharply. Over the past month, they have delivered more than 8.5 million pounds of food to those in Minnesota and western Wisconsin facing hunger.

“As COVID-19 creates a hunger crisis, our community is stepping up in new and innovative ways to fight back,” says Allison O’Toole, CEO of Second Harvest Heartland. “The partners involved in this initiative are doing their part to end hunger, generously donating the proceeds of their new sanitizer to feed our neighbors. This is a perfect example of the creativity and shared effort it will take to get us through these tough times.”

“Until now, we’ve been focused on bulk production and getting sanitizer to large organizations such as the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, nursing homes and hospitals across the state,” says Jon Kreidler, founder of Tattersall Distilling. “Partnering with Johnson Brothers and our local grocery stores not only allows us to fill the growing demand from individuals but lets us come together to help another incredibly meaningful cause in our community.”

After its first month of production, All Hands more than doubled initial goals, producing nearly 80,000 gallons of sanitizer for over 2,000 community organizations and essential businesses. The hand sanitizer will be available to consumers in 32oz spray bottles and will be sold for $12.99 at Lunds & Byerlys, Cub Foods, Hy-Vee and Kowalskis across the state.

About All Hands MN: Tattersall Distilling, DuNord Craft Spirits and Brother Justus Whiskey have united to get sanitizer into the hands of Minnesota’s vital organizations and businesses on the pandemic front lines. Financial and logistical support from the Graves Foundation, Think Small and various other donations helped enable the group to donate product to those in need without the ability to pay. The All Hands sanitizer solution is based on the recommended formula by the World Health Organization (WHO) and contains 80% ethyl alcohol. Hawkins, Inc. in Roseville, Minnesota has been instrumental in helping source and secure key components for these efforts. For more information, visit www.allhandsmn.org

About Johnson Brothers: Johnson Brothers is a family-owned wine, spirits, and beer distributor with headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota. The company has been providing world-class service to customers throughout the United States since 1953 and now operates in 25 states with 3,500 team members. To learn about their story, services, and locations, please visit www.johnsonbrothers.com.

About Second Harvest Heartland: Hunger doesn’t wait. While COVID-19 affects our community, helping neighbors experiencing hunger is more necessary than ever. Missing work and an uncertain economy mean families are missing meals. Second Harvest Heartland’s COVID-19 plans include emergency food boxes, prepared meals from Minnesota Central Kitchen, access to SNAP (food stamps), extra measures to keep Second Harvest Heartland employees and food safe and partnering with elected officials. We are all concerned about staying safe and reducing our exposure to illness. But for some of our neighbors, a lack of resources means they can’t afford to stock up on food. To fund an emergency food box today, donate to www.2harvest.org/emergencyfood. To learn more about Second Harvest Heartland’s COVID-19 response, visit www.2harvest.org/covid19update