Meet the Team of The Bullock Distillery

John Bullock

Meet our Chief Executive Officer and Co-Owner, John C. Bullock. John is from Eastern North Carolina. He and his son, Tighe, were inspired with the possibility of constructing a craft distillery in what they called the “Little Staats” building. Five years later, they are producing and selling alcoholic spirits from the building. 

John is also the Owner and President of Gaddy Engineering Company.  He has owned and operated Gaddy for 22 years.  John holds Professional Engineer Licenses in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Illinois.  He is also a Professional Geologist in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  John has spent more than 40 years in the mining industry in West Virginia.  

John has his BA in Geology from North Carolina Sate University, a Master of Science in Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and a BS in Accounting from the University of Charleston.  

John was Mayor of Thurmond in 1984.  John is married to Ellen Muller Bullock and they have three children, Megan Bullock, Tighe Bullock and Jane Bullock Mercer.  John and Ellen have recently became grandparents to Daniel Alexander Mercer and  and Arlo Bullock-Brown.

John enjoys spending time with his faithful companion – Paddy Scout Murphy Bullock.  They like to take long walks together and go to the water park on the Kanawha River where she loves to swim!

Tighe Bullock

Tighe C. Bullock grew up working in the construction industry from the age of 12, and so Tighe knows his way around a construction site. Those skills, along with Tighe’s Business Management degree and his Accounting degree (Magna Cum Laude), as well as his experiences as a practicing attorney, have helped Tighe create innovative finance models to restore historic buildings, create jobs, and grow business in the Mountain State. 

Originally from Thurmond, West Virginia where he is on City Council, Tighe’s love of historic preservation led him to successfully restore over 15 buildings in Charleston. He is passionate about history and the redevelopment of West Virginia communities, and currently serves as Chair of the Mount Hope Historic Landmarks Commission in Fayette County. Tighe is part owner and COO of The Bullock Distillery, where he is able to marry his love of chemistry, art, and business creation. 

In his spare time, Tighe enjoys white water rafting, climbing, skiing, and reading history books, as well as spending time with his family and girlfriend, Molly.

Dusta Tanner

Meet Dusta M. Tanner, our Chief Financial Officer and Co-Owner of The Bullock Distillery.

Dusta grew up in Spencer, West Virginia and moved to Charleston in 2016. Dusta graduated in 2006 from West Virginia University of Parkersburg with a bachelor’s in business. She also holds multiple banking degrees from the American Institute of Banking with the West Virginia Bankers Association. She began working for Gaddy Engineering Company in 2009 and is the Executive Vice President. She is also the Vice President of Crawford Holdings, LLC that led in redevelopment of the Elk City Historic District.

Dusta is a Past President, Board Member and Current Member of the Kiwanis Club of West Charleston. She volunteers in her free time and enjoys serving beer at the Appalachian Power Park for the Club. Dusta also served on the Board of Directors of the Salvation Army.

Dusta enjoys retail therapy, collects pineapples.  Her new pastime is binge watching Yellowstone. An interesting fact about Dusta is that she bowls in a weekly doubles tournament and is improving with every roll of the ball.

Adam Anderson

Head Distiller, Adam Anderson, was born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia. He was a carpenter for more than 25 years. He has been instrumental in the redevelopment of the Elk City Historic District of Charleston.  Adam’s background in construction has brought a set of skills to the Company that few distillers can match. If something breaks, Adam will fix it! Adam and owner, Tighe Bullock, have worked together off and on for almost 20 years in the construction industry. As Tighe can often be heard saying “Adam has forgotten more about construction than I remember.”

In his free time, Adam enjoys anything outdoors including camping and hiking. His family loves to explore West Virginia and all our great state has to offer in his camper. He is passionate about creating quality products and growing the distilling industry in the state. He loves what he does and it’s shown through his loyalty to the craft and The Bullock Distillery brand. We appreciate Adam and all he has done and continues to do to grow this business!

Scott Ferris

Distiller Scott Ferris was born and raised in Bluefield, West Virginia and graduated from Bluefield High School in 2009.

From there he studied math, physics, and eastern religions at West Virginia University, earning a B.S. in 2013. After graduating he spent years working as a whitewater river guide for Adventures On The Gorge (you can still request him as a guide), a ski and snowboard instructor on various mountains, and the drummer for a band called @Groundhog Gravy.

Aside from whitewater, snowsports, and live music, some of his other interests include foraging, mountain biking, listening to podcasts, the occasional unicycle ride, and of course enjoying a drink with friends. Scott and co-owner, Tighe, have been best buds since being roommates in college. They continue to do rad stuff together.

Dustin “Weiners” Sampson

Please say hello to our head bottler and assistant distiller, Dustin Sampson. When he’s not distilling or getting more tattoos, Dustin loves hunting, fishing, motorsports, and white water sports.

Dustin comes from a small, hardworking coal mining family in Winifrede, West Virginia. He served in the US army for eight years with two deployments to Iraq. He’s also a self-taught mechanic (and a darn good one at that).

Dustin’s favorite quote is: “We must be better than we were yesterday.”

Royce S. Tanner

Royce S. Tanner is the Sales Manager here at The Bullock Distillery. Royce is a Roane County native, graduating from Roane County High School in 2019.

She received her B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from West Virginia State University. She’s now a grad student at Marshall University working towards her M.S. in Accountancy. She’s the President-Elect of the West Charleston Kiwanis Club and volunteers with them in her free time.

Royce is also an avid reader; her favorite book is The Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver. She also enjoys listening to her favorite podcast, “Crime Junkie”. 

Matthew Muller

Meet our Sales Associate, Matthew D. Matthew.  Matt was born and raised in Cranford, New Jersey.   While growing up, he often visited his family in West Virginia.  Over the years, he fell in love with our beautiful state and moved to West Virginia in 2017.  He worked construction for four and a half years, including the building that The Bullock Distillery calls home.

Matt has become interested in the process and resulting products of distilling he parlays his interest, knowledge, communication skills, and enjoyment of meeting and interacting with people in his present position.  He’s well known for his kindness, friendliness, and his outgoing personality.  Matt now works in the tasting room discerning customer tastes and interests, so he can better introduce them to our wonderful products.  

In Matt’s free time, he loves to hang out with his friends and family. He is a member and volunteer for the Kiwanis Club of West Charleston and coaches church league basketball. He enjoys white water rafting, camping, and various other outdoor activities, loves music, and is an avid concert attendee. He also is going to culinary school at Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. He hopes to make your experience at the distillery the very best it can possibly be.

Paddy Scout Murphy Bullock

Meet our shop dog, team mascot, and morale booster, Paddy Scout Murphy Bullock! Paddy Scout was born in Jackson, Ohio, and moved to West Virginia to her forever home in October 2019.  She’s the best part of everybody’s day. She loves greeting customers with a wagging tail, long hikes with her dad, catching “light bugs,”, getting treats for doing tricks, and chasing sticks at the Kanawha River waterpark with her Dad. Our sweet girl is now three years old, making her officially 21 in human years!  She’s the famous pooch on the label of our new product “White Dog” Moonshine that will be released in October.  Stop by our distillery so you can meet her!