OUR STORY
Lee Medoff
Head Distiller and Founder
Medoff started as a brewer at McMenamins and co-founded House Spirits before starting Bull Run Distillery. Lee is the founder and head distiller of Bull Run Distillery located in Portland, Oregon.
Medoff, born and raised in Oregon, began his career as a brewer. He moved on to winemaking when he encountered his first distilling experiences, which led him to decide on becoming a distiller. He has been distilling legally and professionally since 1998.
He started House Spirits Distillery in 2004, where he helped create several popular craft spirit brands of which his namesake Medoyeff Vodka and Aviation Gin are the most successful. He was one of the founding members and first president of the Oregon Distillers Guild, America’s first craft distillers guild. In 2010, with his sights set on making a pure malt Oregon Whiskey, he started Bull Run Distillery and began to develop unique barrel-finished products. This catapulted Bull Run's sought-after whiskeys to where they are today.
Jennifer Medoff
Director of Operations
Being immersed in the Oregon wine scene and managing wine tasting rooms for almost a decade eventually lead Jennifer through the doors at Bull Run Distillery. She wanted to bring the environment she had created in wine tasting rooms to the tasting room side of the distillery.
She joined Bull Run Distillery in 2013 and managed their Portland tasting room for three years before starting to play a more prominent role in managing operations. It's always been Jennifer's top priority to ensure the brand message echoed in the tasting room both welcomes the consumer and appeases the connoisseur.
Having lived in Oregon for most of her life and being a lover of travel, Jennifer has constantly been surrounded by some of the best food and wine scenes. This passion for creating flavors has been instrumental in developing cocktails for Bull Run events. From the successful Carlton Cocktail Walk, featured at Bull Run’s second location in Carlton, to many other onsite and offsite events. One of Jennifer’s missions has been to show off Bull Run's delicious spirits in as many tasty ways as possible.
Jennifer’s current focus is expanding Bull Run's very successful custom barrel program. She happily works with private whiskey clubs and liquor stores throughout the country. If you have a group that's interested in picking out a personalized barrel and bottling it, click here.
Trevor Kadell
Assistant to the Distiller
From the age of 16, Trevor has worked with a variety of foods from chocolates to barbecue and much more. Food was the inspiration for his career until he became acquainted with spirits and cocktails.
Starting at Bull Run in 2018, he was still working at Ned Ludd part-time where his infatuation with spirits began. With flavor and quality also being a top priority at Bull Run, it was an easy decision to join the team.
Trevor has put his hand into every pot in the distillery. He’s worked farmers markets, a variety of events, at the Portland tasting room, and has also plays a part in production as Assistant to the Distiller.
Andrew Manahan
Carlton Post Tasting Room Manager
Andrew began his career with Bull Run in June 2023 as a brand ambassador. During this time, Andrew primarily worked at the Portland tasting room, farmers markets, and hotel events. Currently, Andrew manages the Carlton Post.
​
Outside the tasting room, he enjoys spending time with his family and 3 pets, playing ice hockey, and imbibing a beer or 2 at one of the many local breweries in Portland.
​
His knowledge in whiskey has aided him in the ability to recommend the whiskey best suited for his customers’ palates. Andrew’s passion, desire to learn, and educate the public in whiskey production is the driving force to his success in our tasting rooms. One day, he hopes to become a distiller himself.
Dakota Brower
Designer & Multi-Media Manager
A wearer of many hats, Dakota is responsible for Bull Run's design needs, manages the company's social media presence, and is the go-to "tech guy".
With a background in advertising, he was given the opportunity to work on some marketing materials for BRD. Having a passion for graphic design and a love for Whiskey, joining the Bull Run team was an easy choice.
In the following years, Dakota's role in the company has grown, making him an essential part of the organization.
​