During the Jameson Distillery tour on a vacation to Dublin in 2019, Jeremy Grunewald was captivated by the guide's admission that thousands of bottles of whiskey are lost each day due to evaporation and cask leakage. For the chemical engineer who had worked in the roofing industry for a decade, it was an aha moment. He began to wonder if the technology behind the specialized coatings and sealants he used to make a roof watertight could be used on whiskey barrels.
Grunewald, who graduated from FIU's College of Engineering & Computing in 2022 with a master's degree in engineering management, is now founder and CEO of Devil's Cask. The company produces a patented clear coating known as SpiritLock Technology, that provides vapor protection — reducing evaporation and barrel leaks — when applied to the outside of a cask. It can be used for any alcohol that is aged in a barrel, including bourbon, rum, tequila, cognac and even some wines.
Grunewald credits FIU with his ability to start a new business and take his product from conception to the marketplace. It was a process that gained momentum during his business and entrepreneurial class after he returned to FIU from his Ireland vacation.
