so he called a local expert, ronlt lipman, whose family founded the first distributor of jack daniels the 1930s. >> robert answered his phone that afternoon and said i've got 100 different vodkas in my white house but i'll give you 20 minutes since you're a veteran. >> >> 20 minutes is all it took. >> what always drove me, my friend, if they could give their lives for this country and the men and women that serve every day, i can do this. >> reporter: lipman was hooked. so he invested in here owes, betting his story would sell. he went into production on veterans day in 2011. in early 2012, 300 national retailers and restaurants began selling it. now available in 15 states, heroes sells for about $15 a bottle. >> when i first sat down and spoke to travis, i said, man, you know, you're climbing a pretty steep hill. >> reporter: in 2013, leonard phillips became the first new york city retailer to carry heroes. >> he was not going to be deterred. he said, i'm going to do this. and i said, well, you've got my support. >> reporter: 15,000 cases, and close to $1 million in sales later, hero