John Evans

The Climb

The practical side of distilling shows up early in John Evans’s background: he worked as IT, a start that points to the kind of behind-the-scenes labor that can shape how a maker thinks about systems, process, and ownership. Since 2022, that perspective has been built into Wilson Valley Mercantile in Little River-Academy, Texas, where Evans is the owner, founder, and distiller. The role combines the day-to-day work of running a distillery with the discipline of making it function as part of a larger farm operation.

Today

At Wilson Valley Mercantile, the crop comes first. Evans’s whiskey and bourbon begin with grain grown on the family farm, and the first two bourbons were made with all three grains grown on-site. That makes the work agricultural before it is technical: the distillery’s identity is tied to what can be raised in the field, handled on the farm, and carried through to bottle. The point of that setup is not scale for its own sake, but a product with a direct line back to place. Evans frames the goal as, “Just to have something unique, something that will lead more into agritourism and telling our story about the area and our family.” He also names the basic economics that sit under the work: “How can we make corn worth more money?” In practice, that means turning grain into spirits that hold value because they are specific to the land, the family, and the system that grows them.

Career - owner, founder, and distiller — Wilson Valley Mercantile, Little River, Texas (2022–present) - IT

In Their Words “Just to have something unique, something that will lead more into agritourism and telling our story about the area and our family.” “How can we make corn worth more money?”

FAQ What is John Evans's current role? As of 2026, John Evans is Owner, Founder, and Distiller. What is John Evans known for? A 'seed to sip' farm-distillery approach: the whiskey and bourbon are made from grain grown on the family farm, with all three grains in the first two bourbons grown on-site.