Anne Arasin is the Owner and Founder of Stern Mama. Her path to starting her own distillery has had many twists and turns. In 2018, she quit her day job as an editor and started backpacking through Central and South America, where she lived for 2 years, supporting herself through freelance editing and teaching positions while volunteering for local companies that piqued her interest.
Anne tasted her first fresh sugarcane stick while working on an animal rescue farm in Costa Rica, where a delivery truck would drop a few in the road as he drove by. If she was fast enough, she could grab them off the ground before anyone else ran them over. The crispy sweetness of that sugarcane stayed with her as she continued on her adventures.
Later, working as an apprentice at a nanobrewery in Argentina, Anne brewed her first batch of beer and learned the value of crafting something with her own two hands. After returning to the States, she pursued a formal education in the alcohol industry through programs with the American Brewer’s Guild and the University of Vermont.
Combining her formal knowledge of the industry with fond memories on the road, Anne is introducing a rum distilled from 100% sugarcane molasses for those who find their own way through unfamiliar waters. Though carrying everything you own from one place to the next is fun for a while, at the end of the day, Anne wants to belong somewhere. Stern Mama is her path to belonging here.
About Us
Chris Alborn is the Head Distiller and Operations Manager at Stern Mama. He has worked in the craft beer and spirits industry for 10 years and brings a wealth of knowledge on various systems, from a 15-barrel system during his time as a brewery intern at Hofbrauhaus München in Chicago to a 250-barrel system at Lagunitas, where he worked his way up from Assistant Brewer to Shift Lead Brewer in less than 3 years. He also worked as Head Distiller and Brewer at Seven Stills, where he honed his skills in both brewing and distillation. Most recently, he worked at Ninkasi Brewing, located in Eugene.
Stern Mama’s branding was developed by University of Oregon Graduate, Ellie Reis, who used photos from Anne’s travels abroad to create our logo and label artwork. Ellie teamed up with Cassandra Judd to finalize our label design. Learn more about their process here!