ABOUT US
Doundrins’ story starts some years ago while Nick attended the University of Wisconsin for Chemical Engineering. While in school, he developed an interest in craft beer and worked at a local brewpub — where the dream of owning his own brewery first began. Abby was also studying Chemical Engineering at Iowa State University. Eventually, Nick decided to study abroad in Spain, and that’s where he and Abby met. They connected over shared Midwest values, their families, and their mutual engineering nerdiness. It was a whirlwind from there.
After graduation, they moved to Texas and worked as chemical engineers. Over time, they got engaged and decided to move closer to family, taking jobs at an ethanol plant in Illinois. There, they learned a lot about the beverage distillation process. While living in Illinois, they got married and had their first child. Eventually, they decided to move even closer to family, and Madison made the most sense — halfway between both of their parents and a city Nick already loved.
Nick still dreamed of starting his own business, and Madison’s craft beverage culture reignited those conversations. With his background in homebrewing and their growing interest in distillation, the idea for a distillery began to take shape. After lots of research, meetings with local distillers, and months of discussion, they decided to go for it in January 2018.
Their goal was to create high-quality craft spirits without skimping on ingredients — but still keep the products affordable. They also wanted to support the local community through partnerships, local sourcing, and involvement in events. After nearly a year of searching, they found the perfect location in Cottage Grove.
Since then, Doundrins has grown immensely. The Abramovich family welcomed their second child in 2018, built the production suite and Tasting Room in early 2019, held a soft opening on August 31st, and a grand opening party on November 23rd. In just 2.5 years of production, they released over 25 different products. In 2020, they made nearly 500,000 gallons of hand sanitizer and opened an 11,000-square-foot outdoor Cocktail Garden. By 2021, Doundrins partnered with five additional distributors and is now sold in over 650 locations across Wisconsin.
I grew up in Wisconsin where I went to high school in Slinger, and then went on to college at UW-Madison for chemical engineering. During my last summer in college, I studied abroad in Spain where I met my wife Abby who was in the same course through Iowa State. After graduation, I worked in the oil industry in Oklahoma, and Canada before making my way to Texas. After a time, Abby and I decided to move back to the Midwest to be closer to family, so we found jobs at a corn ethanol plant and settled in Illinois. We got married and had our first son Byron. My dream was always to get back to the Madison area and we were able to do that in 2017. Now we are back in the great state of Wisconsin, living in Stoughton. During this business start up, Abby and I also had our 2nd child – Clara.
Outside of spending time with our energetic children, I enjoy brewing beer, and, of course, sampling the great local craft brews, food, and spirits in the Madison area. I also enjoy spending time outside and tinkering with various DIY projects like my homemade trellis for, what else, hops for beer making. I also love skiing and hope to be able to start doing that again more in the future.
I have over 13 years of experience in engineering in both small and large companies. I have worked in a wide variety of sectors including petrol chemicals, ethanol, and polyurethane foam manufacturing, with a specialization in project development and management. I also have experience in the food service industry from my college days as a server. I enjoy working with the people around me and look forward to building a business that will help the community thrive.
I grew up in a small town in eastern Iowa. I then went to Iowa State to study chemical engineering. While studying abroad in Spain, I met my future husband, Nick. If you read Nick’s bio, you see where this is going… I found a job in Texas after graduating, and moved south to meet up with Nick. After awhile we wanted to be closer to home to raise a family. We moved to Illinois, where I worked in the distillation department making beverage ethanol – basically high proof vodka – but on an industrial scale. While living in Illinois, our first child was born: Byron. He is now a busy 8 year old, who has an obsession with learning how everything works and is always building something. Signs of a young engineer already? In 2017 we moved to the Madison area and settled in Stoughton. We had our second child, Clara, in Nov. 2018. Time has flown by and she is already 6 (going on 17)! She loves drawing and math, and is a social butterfly.
Along the way, Nick and I got 2 dogs, traveled internationally a lot, and got SCUBA certified. I also like to express my creativity through photography, so I started a portrait photography business back in 2015 that I operated through 2019. I specialized in baby portraits, family photos, and cosplay convention photography. Since starting the distillery, my photography business had to take a back burner. I still love to take product and cocktail pictures for the distillery to express that creativity! I also like to garden – both vegetables and flowers and in the last 5 years have become entrenched in houseplant community. I am a self-proclaimed "crazy plant person".
I have over 12 years of chemical engineering experience ranging from continuous industrial scale to batch operations like we use in the distillery. I have extensive operational optimization and troubleshooting experience, as well as large-scale capital project management experience.
I still have my fulltime job, which was capital project management from 2017-2024. I managed large, multi-million dollar construction projects all over the country for the manufacturing company I work for. In Jan. 2025 I shifted to a corporate investment engineering role where I validate estimates and monitor cost controls of projects all over the world for our company. I am loving it so far, but it is still a hope that one day I can quit my job and work fulltime at the distillery.
I grew up in Wisconsin where I went to high school in Slinger, and then went on to college at UW-Madison for chemical engineering. During my last summer in college, I studied abroad in Spain where I met my wife Abby who was in the same course through Iowa State. After graduation, I worked in the oil industry in Oklahoma, and Canada before making my way to Texas. After a time, Abby and I decided to move back to the Midwest to be closer to family, so we found jobs at a corn ethanol plant and settled in Illinois. We got married and had our first son Byron. My dream was always to get back to the Madison area and we were able to do that in 2017. Now we are back in the great state of Wisconsin, living in Stoughton. During this business start up, Abby and I also had our 2nd child – Clara.
Outside of spending time with our energetic children, I enjoy brewing beer, and, of course, sampling the great local craft brews, food, and spirits in the Madison area. I also enjoy spending time outside and tinkering with various DIY projects like my homemade trellis for, what else, hops for beer making. I also love skiing and hope to be able to start doing that again more in the future.
I have over 13 years of experience in engineering in both small and large companies. I have worked in a wide variety of sectors including petrol chemicals, ethanol, and polyurethane foam manufacturing, with a specialization in project development and management. I also have experience in the food service industry from my college days as a server. I enjoy working with the people around me and look forward to building a business that will help the community thrive.
I grew up in a small town in eastern Iowa. I then went to Iowa State to study chemical engineering. While studying abroad in Spain, I met my future husband, Nick. If you read Nick’s bio, you see where this is going… I found a job in Texas after graduating, and moved south to meet up with Nick. After awhile we wanted to be closer to home to raise a family. We moved to Illinois, where I worked in the distillation department making beverage ethanol – basically high proof vodka – but on an industrial scale. While living in Illinois, our first child was born: Byron. He is now a busy 8 year old, who has an obsession with learning how everything works and is always building something. Signs of a young engineer already? In 2017 we moved to the Madison area and settled in Stoughton. We had our second child, Clara, in Nov. 2018. Time has flown by and she is already 6 (going on 17)! She loves drawing and math, and is a social butterfly.
Along the way, Nick and I got 2 dogs, traveled internationally a lot, and got SCUBA certified. I also like to express my creativity through photography, so I started a portrait photography business back in 2015 that I operated through 2019. I specialized in baby portraits, family photos, and cosplay convention photography. Since starting the distillery, my photography business had to take a back burner. I still love to take product and cocktail pictures for the distillery to express that creativity! I also like to garden – both vegetables and flowers and in the last 5 years have become entrenched in houseplant community. I am a self-proclaimed "crazy plant person".
I have over 12 years of chemical engineering experience ranging from continuous industrial scale to batch operations like we use in the distillery. I have extensive operational optimization and troubleshooting experience, as well as large-scale capital project management experience.
I still have my fulltime job, which was capital project management from 2017-2024. I managed large, multi-million dollar construction projects all over the country for the manufacturing company I work for. In Jan. 2025 I shifted to a corporate investment engineering role where I validate estimates and monitor cost controls of projects all over the world for our company. I am loving it so far, but it is still a hope that one day I can quit my job and work fulltime at the distillery.
SHOP OUR SPIRITS
