Whiskey has always been about more than what is in the glass. At New Dawn Distilling, that truth is at the very heart of the business. Founded by Dr. Dawn O’Neal, a former conservationist turned distiller, the brand is built on the belief that great whiskey can also be sustainable. O’Neal’s journey from environmental advocacy to whiskey making is as compelling as her mission: to use whiskey as a tool for education, conservation, and community.
As a Black woman in whiskey, she is reshaping the conversation in more ways than one.
From Conservation to Whiskey
Dr. Dawn O’Neal came to whiskey by way of conservation. After an early career working in environmental advocacy, she found herself burned out. The non-profit world often meant fighting uphill battles with little visible change. She wanted to make a more direct impact.
Based in New Orleans, O’Neal decided to take her passion for whiskey and connect it to her expertise in sustainability. Water quickly became her focus. Distilling is a thirsty business. On average, it takes 37 liters of water to produce just one liter of spirit.
At the same time, more than 44 million Americans live with inadequate water infrastructure. For O’Neal, that imbalance was impossible to ignore.
“Coming from the conservation world, you spend a decade essentially trying to save the planet. I wanted to be like Captain Planet,” she told me during a Zoom call. “Whiskey was my passion, so it was easy for me to see that whiskey could be used as an educational tool around sustainability. You like bourbon? Well, then we need to be talking about regenerative agriculture and organic farming.”
Building Sustainability Into the Business
From the beginning, O’Neal knew she could not tackle everything at once. Solar panels, recycled glass, and sustainable grains — each came with costs that would overwhelm a young brand. Instead, she broke it down into steps.
O’Neal is sourcing whiskey from partners who share her sustainability goals. The focus right now is on building a conscious supply chain. From grain to glass, she wants every step of the process to reflect environmental responsibility and community values.
“It’s too expensive to do everything at once… So I look at sustainability across my entire supply chain and that’s what I encourage other distillers and brand owners to do as well. Break it down. It’s the baby steps that are important that will put you on the path to sustainable quality,” she explained.
Those steps now shape every part of New Dawn Distilling. The company donates one percent of proceeds to clean water, climate action, and sustainable agriculture initiatives. Grains are sourced organically and locally, while partners are chosen for values as much as technical skill. At Alton Distillery in Bethel, New York, the water used in production is drawn from a local aquifer and recycled through a closed-loop system. Transportation is also done as sustainably as possible, with careful examination of the carbon impacts throughout the system.
Her whiskeys reflect that ethos. Recent releases include a six-year-old cask strength bourbon and a ten-year-old wheated whiskey, both already gaining recognition on the awards circuit.
Educating Consumers Through Whiskey
For O’Neal, whiskey is as much about education as it is about enjoyment. She sees the spirit as a gateway to bigger conversations on sustainability, agriculture, and community.
“I want to have whiskey university where I’m like, here’s how we do these things sustainably… and here’s how the alcohol system is working,” she said.
That vision now shapes New Dawn’s public voice. On social media, O’Neal breaks down complex topics into digestible points. Posts offer practical tips on storing bottles and share advice on reducing waste, as well as amplifying New Dawn’s sustainable initiatives.
She believes whiskey makes these conversations more engaging. “Of all the examples you could use to educate people in this area, whiskey really is the most fun. Sitting around sipping whiskey and talking sustainability… you’re always going to have amazing conversations.”
Community and Inclusivity
Sustainability for O’Neal is not only about resources. It is also about people. New Dawn donates one percent of proceeds to support clean water, climate action, and sustainable agriculture. As the brand grows, O’Neal plans to direct those funds even more locally, focusing on the regions where new whiskeys are sourced and produced.
“We donate 1% of proceeds… Right now, we’re focusing on both environmental justice and organisations that are doing farming. But as we grow, I imagine focusing those more explicitly in terms of where the new releases are coming out,” she said.
As a Black woman in whiskey, O’Neal is also breaking ground in an industry that still lacks diversity. Her presence at tastings often challenges expectations. “Nobody expects the Black woman to show up with cask-strength whiskey. I love going to tastings for that shock — and then using it as a way to educate and maybe change perceptions about who likes and makes whiskey.”
Her work is as much about representation as it is about production. On New Dawn’s Instagram page, Dawn notes that Black Americans represent 7.8% of the labor force in the alcohol sector but just 2% of executives, and 0% of acquisitions. New Dawn Distilling aims to change this by collaborating with Black, Indigenous, persons-of-color, and women-owned businesses.
Dawn’s ongoing success is a testament to the strength and vitality of Black businesses, which have been celebrated throughout August as part of Black Business Month.
Looking Ahead: Growth and Ambitions
O’Neal sees New Dawn as a platform to showcase both sustainability and geography. Her current releases already highlight regional character, from a six-year-old cask strength bourbon to a ten-year-old wheated whiskey sourced from New York. Next, she wants to expand that vision.
“I’d love to be able to do a Southern Belle series that really showcases Southern distillers and the practices they’re using, and bring it home for my now hometown and the history across the southern US,” she said.
Beyond that, she hopes to highlight Appalachia, a region shaped by both distilling tradition and the challenges of climate change. “From a 10-year perspective, I’d like to do one that focuses on Appalachia… ways to support communities in those areas, showcase sustainability efforts as the future, and highlight how geography shapes the whiskey.”
Her long-term ambitions even reach into mezcal. A trip to Oaxaca convinced her that the agave spirit could also serve as a powerful tool for sustainability education.
A New Dawn For Whiskey
For Dr. Dawn O’Neal, whiskey is more than a product. It is a way to make a difference. “Educating people through whiskey is absolutely the best. It’s so much more fulfilling than conservation, where sometimes you feel like you’re beating your head against the wall. Here, I feel like I’m making a real difference,” she said.
New Dawn Distilling shows that whiskey can be flavorful and forward-thinking. It proves you can drink great whiskey made “with intention from grain to glass”.
You can explore New Dawn Distilling’s current portfolio here, or click here to learn more about Dawn’s story.
Read the full article at New Dawn Distilling: A Black Business Month Spotlight on Sustainable Whiskey
