Raj Alva

Whiskey Makers

Raj Alva

Born in Mangalore, India, Raj Alva arrived in Saginaw, Michigan as a young child, when his father moved to the US with $1,000 in his pocket and a resume in his hand. His father ultimately taught him that unrelenting hard work could change the course of his family’s lives, provide unique opportunities for those around him, and increase his ability to give back to others in meaningful ways. That lesson stuck.

A graduate of Michigan with a Harvard MBA, Raj Alva is described as the ultimate finance, investment and business building professional. That (and his passion for bourbon and sports) might explain why he and Eric Church became fast friends, then partners on a new whiskey brand.

For over 30 years, Raj says he’s done the work he had to do. Now he says it’s time to do the work he wants to do. And that includes building a revolutionary new whiskey brand that goes by the name of JYPSI.

Ari Sussman

As Eric Church and Raj Alva began the development of Whiskey JYPSI, they sought the help of experienced whiskey masters and blenders who could help them reimagine traditional whiskey industry conventions. After countless meetings with master distillers and blenders, they decided Ari Sussman was the first man for the job.

After all, Ari had been the head of Spirits Development for Michigan State’s Artisan Distilling Program and an award-winning whiskey maker. But he also had a healthy dose of the JYPSI Spirit in him. Before entering the whiskey world full time, Ari’s career included winemaking in France, bartending on multiple continents, and working with seed banks to revive historic grain varietals for whiskey making. He also raised ostriches and almonds with Bedouin tribes in the Middle East. And when it comes to whiskey, it turns out he is a remarkable experimenter, tinkerer and innovator. “The mad scientist,” they call him. Which made Ari the perfect choice for creating something new. Called Whiskey JYPSI.