Danny Bradley, Owner, President and CEO of Crystal Ridge Distillery, grew up in the shadows of the Ouachita Mountains; specifically, a sub-range called the Crystal Mountains. The quartz in those mountains is of such quality that the small town of Mt. Ida, a short drive from Hot Springs, is known as the “Quartz Capital” of the United States.
Like most boys in rural Arkansas, Danny grew up hunting, fishing, playing sports and ranging in those mountains. Following a stint with the United States Air Force, Danny returned to Arkansas and attended college at Henderson State, where he took a degrees in Health and Physics. Under internship, he taught P.E. and coached football at Lakeside High School and then taught Agriculture and was a FFA sponsor at Magnet Cove High School, just south of Hot Springs in Malvern.
Believing in the need to instill local youth with job skills and work ethic, Danny was also an Instructor at the Arkansas Career Training Institute in Hot Springs where he taught Construction Technology. In his spare time, Danny fished competitively in professional bass tournaments on Lake Ouachita and other regionally located lakes.
Danny then returned to college and graduated from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville with a Ph.D. in Poultry Science. After years of traveling the United States for work, he decided it was time to return to his home in Garland County. His love for Arkansas and the Hot Springs area inspired him to join in the revitalization of the downtown area. Knowing that jobs were key to sustain a thriving city, Danny chose to build a business, his distillery, downtown. Since its beginning, the mission of Crystal Ridge Distillery has been to create jobs. From the construction and renovation of “The Old Country Store” into Crystal Ridge Distillery itself, Danny not only put many people to work, but also helped immortalize a piece of history so important to Hot Springs.
We are the very first legal distillery in Hot Springs, AR. In our distillery you will have a huge selection of moonshine, bourbons, whiskey, vodka, mixed drinks in a can, and more! Come for a tour/tasting to see our production and product
📸 Crystal Ridge Distillery
