ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla — Zephyrhills is known for its pure drinking water, which is one of the main reasons why a local pilot with a passion for making premium spirits decided it was the perfect place to establish his dream distillery.
When Victor Young started Dunamis Premium Spirits in 2021, he created the Dunamis Promise, which means they strive for greatness in every product they make.
“Dunamis is an ancient Greek word and it’s the highest level of power and it also translates to greatness and so growing up, we grew up with humble beginnings, and so my father would make sure everything we touched, everything we did in life we did with excellence and greatness in mind,” said Young.
Growing up in Tampa Bay, Young knew Zephyrhills would be the perfect place to open his own distillery.
“Because it starts with pure water, it’s like making a pizza in New York, people say, ‘why is the pizza so good in New York,’ it’s the water right, well same thing, when you are making a spirit the quality of water you use to down proof and match in is very critical,” said Young.
In the past four years, Dunamis has gone on to bottle award-winning gin, vodka, bourbon, and rum.
“It’s a special time to have a family business that we’re able to showcase local Tampa talent, homegrown Tampa talent, that not only services this community and the state of Florida but the entire country at this point,” said Young. “Definitely not a lot of African American distillers in the country, there is probably less than 20 out of the thousands that exist, so it’s a rare group of individuals.”
Young’s passion for aviation is evident in several of his spirits, such as Zulu Hotel Airmen’s Gin and Aero Squadron Vodka.
“Every bottle of Aero Squadron we sell proceeds go back to Folds of Honor,” said Young.
“That’s really for the Gold Star families, kids of fallen soldiers, first responders.”
Young has also been very instrumental in developing the next generation of pilots.
“We like to find people who want to be in aerospace and aviation who might not have the means to make it happen and we make it happen for them,” said Young.
Dunamis is even in the process of expanding its facility to include a helipad.
“So all the tour pilots, from Ocala, to Orlando, Sarasota, Bradenton, Tampa, fly in individuals to do a tour, so they’ll get an aerial tour by helicopter, they’ll get a tour of the facility, and then they’ll get to go back to their homes,” said Young.
You could say Dunamis is soaring to new heights.
“We’re growing quickly, and we’ll be the first fly in distillery that I’ve been able to find around the world,” said Young.
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