FARM-CITY PRO RODEO
Whiskey
Continued from Page 18
“We were looking for the
option to give purse money
back to the cowboys,” he said.
“Our livelihood is based on
the cowboys’ success, so they
can keep coming back to our
event.”
Chute Eight Whiskey has
been in existence since 2015,
when rodeo board members ap-
proached the Portland company
Indio Spirits.
“Farm-City came to us with
a label design,” said Indio CEO
John Ufford. “I made up some
samples of different whiskeys
we could do.”
Ufford said the company is
trying to market the drink to as
many rodeos as possible, but
will also be selling it interna-
tionally, come August.
“We’ll start selling in New
Zealand and Australia in Au-
gust, and Japan by the end of the
year,” he said. “And obviously
we sell in Hermiston.”
Though the purpose of the
whiskey was to bring revenue
back to competitors, Ufford said
that likely won’t happen for this
year’s event.
“The money will start com-
ing back in for next year’s priz-
es,” he said. “We have a lot of
up-front marketing, and we have
to hit a minimum. We’ll hit that
minimum this year, it’s based on
cases sold.”
Barnett said they were not
yet satisfied with their revenue
from the product, but hoped
they would hit their goal in the
next year.
“We’d like to be giv-
ing multiple thousands back
to the cowboys,” he said.
“Our goal is to increase the purse
over a period of time, substan-
tially. Right now, it’s $13,000 per
event. We would like to double
that.”
He added that they had
some marketing goals to reach
first.
“Once we reach that, our goal
is to put every dime back in,” he
said.
The company also shot a
promotional video featuring
Farm-City founders and former
rodeo riders Butch Knowles and
David Bothum, set on Knowles’
ranch.
The short video shows the
two men riding horses, sepa-
rately, and meeting at a fence
— where they reach across and
shake hands.
The two men on horse-
back, shaking hands, is fea-
tured on the whiskey’s label
and, according to Knowles, the
way they’ve always conducted
business.
“In the old West, many deals
were settled with a handshake,”
he said. “It is the Code of the
West.”
Barnett agreed.
“Hopefully that handshake
means something in today’s
world,” he said.
Contributed photo by John Heitkemper of Media Cabin
Butch Knowles and David Bothum shake hands for a video
commercial shoot on Knowles ranch to promote Chute Eight
American Whiskey. The two men, who founded the Farm-City Pro
Rodeo in Hermiston, are featured shaking hands on the label of
Chute Eight whiskey and vodka by Indio Spirits.
In addition to the Amer-
ican whiskey, the company
has also created a Chute Eight
Vodka.
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