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Rough Draft

Distillery Directory — Rough Draft Plan

Concept Summary

A curated web directory of small, craft, and experiential distilleries — the kind that welcome visitors, run tours, and have tasting rooms or food programs. The platform serves two audiences: visitors discovering where to go, and distillery owners/operators managing their presence and reaching new customers.

Monetization TBD but the claimed-listing / featured-listing model is a strong fit for this category.

What I Know So Far

  • Focus: craft/experiential distilleries (not industrial producers)
  • Core user action: browse by area, search by criteria
  • Owner-facing: claim listing, manage content
  • Monetization: likely tiered listings (free vs. featured/paid)
  • Deliverables needed: PRD, MRD, possibly a technical spec and content spec

Open Questions

Answer these so I can write the PRD, MRD, and build docs accurately.

1. Scope & Geography

  • 1a. Is this US-only to start, or North America, or global? If US, is there a specific region you're targeting first (e.g., Kentucky bourbon trail country, Pacific Northwest, etc.)?
  • 1b. Do you want to launch with a curated seed list of distilleries, or do you expect distilleries to self-register from day one?
  • 1c. Will you personally populate early listings, or hire someone for that?

2. Users & Use Cases

  • 2a. Who is the primary visitor — a tourist planning a trip, a local looking for a weekend activity, or a whiskey enthusiast seeking experiences?
  • 2b. Do visitors need accounts, or is browsing fully anonymous?
  • 2c. Are user reviews/ratings in scope? If so, do reviewers need accounts?
  • 2d. Should visitors be able to save favorites or build itineraries?

3. Distillery Listings — Content

What information should a listing include? Check or add to this list:

  • Name, address, phone, website, social links
  • Hours of operation
  • Tour info (types, frequency, cost, reservation required?)
  • Tasting room details
  • Food program (full restaurant, snacks, food trucks, none)
  • What spirits they make (whiskey, gin, rum, vodka, etc.)
  • Pet-friendly, family-friendly, accessibility info
  • Photos / gallery
  • Upcoming events
  • Online shop / shipping availability
  • Award or recognition badges

3a. Anything to add or remove from that list? 3b. Should listings support embedded video (YouTube/Vimeo tours, etc.)?

4. Search & Discovery

  • 4a. Beyond location, what filters matter most? (spirit type, tour availability, food, price range, open now, pet-friendly, etc.)
  • 4b. Should there be a map view as the primary browse experience, a list/card view, or both?
  • 4c. Should the site support "near me" geolocation search?
  • 4d. Do you want curated editorial content — like "Best Bourbon Distilleries in Kentucky" blog/guide pages — for SEO?

5. Owner/Operator Experience

  • 5a. How does claiming work — email verification, manual review, or something else?
  • 5b. Can unclaimed listings exist (created by you or users), or only owner-submitted ones?
  • 5c. What can a free (unclaimed/basic) listing display vs. a paid listing?
  • 5d. Should owners be able to post events directly to their listing?
  • 5e. Do you want an owner dashboard with analytics (profile views, clicks, etc.)?

6. Monetization

  • 6a. Are you leaning toward a monthly subscription for featured listings, a one-time fee, or both?
  • 6b. Approximate price point you're thinking? (e.g., $29/mo, $99/mo, $500/yr)
  • 6c. Are you open to display advertising (banner ads, sponsored placement in search results)?
  • 6d. Any interest in affiliate revenue — linking to tour booking platforms, merchandise, or spirits delivery services?
  • 6e. Any interest in a "Distillery Trail" or "Passport" product (physical or digital) as an upsell?

7. Technical Preferences

  • 7a. Do you have a preferred tech stack, or are you open to recommendations?
  • 7b. Do you have a developer in mind, or will I be building this?
  • 7c. Any preference on hosting (AWS, Vercel, self-hosted, etc.)?
  • 7d. Do you want a CMS for managing editorial content, or is code-based content management fine?
  • 7e. Payment processing preference — Stripe, or something else?

8. Design & Brand

  • 8a. Do you have a name for the directory yet?
  • 8b. Any visual direction — rustic/artisan feel, clean/modern, or something else?
  • 8c. Do you have an existing brand identity (logo, colors, fonts)?
  • 8d. Are there any existing directories you admire for UX (not necessarily distillery-related)?

9. Business & Timeline

  • 9a. Is this a side project or are you building toward a real business?
  • 9b. Do you have a target launch date or milestone in mind?
  • 9c. Budget constraints I should know about when recommending architecture?
  • 9d. Will you run this solo or do you have a team?

10. Compliance & Legal

  • 10a. Since this touches alcohol, are you aware of any advertising or listing restrictions in your target states/regions? (Some states have strict rules around promoting alcohol.)
  • 10b. Do you want user-submitted reviews? If so, you'll need moderation and a ToS/privacy policy — do you have legal help for that, or will you use a template?

Documents I'll Produce After Your Answers

Document Purpose
MRD (Marketing Requirements Doc) Target audience, competitive landscape, positioning, go-to-market
PRD (Product Requirements Doc) Feature set, user stories, acceptance criteria, prioritization
Technical Spec Stack recommendation, data model, integrations, hosting
Content Spec Listing schema, editorial content strategy, SEO approach
Monetization Model Tier structure, pricing rationale, conversion strategy

Answer what you can — even partial answers help. You can also flag anything here that's wrong or off-base.

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