Our Team
George Schaffer, Founder
George Schaffer has over 35 years’ experience working in the sugar industry and owns one of the few sugar engineering and equipment firms in the world. As the son of a world-renown sugar engineer, he has travelled the global sugar industry at an early age, living from Africa to Europe, and the United States. While George was acquiring sugar industry experience, he also acquired an appreciation for fine rums.
Today, his company’s sugar factory engineering, products or process equipment exist in every sugar mill in the United States and reaches into factories in 15 or more additional countries. The Schaffer engineering sugar legacy includes the world’s largest integrated sugar mill in the world, the only sugar mill in Texas and the majority of the sugar mills in Panama.
Before opening Louisiana Distilleries, George spent time working with William Manso on sugar projects around the world, once they decided to make rum, they travelled to Europe to select the barrels needed to produce premium rums they envisioned. At Louisiana Distilleries, he guides the vision of producing fine rums for both his home state of Louisiana and eventually rum drinkers across the world.
William Manso, Rum Maestro, Panama
William is a sugar engineer from Santiago, Cuba, who began his career at the Uruguay sugar mill (Jatibonico, Cuba) in 1969 and the Melanio Hernandez sugar mill and distillery (Santi Spiritus, Cuba) in 1973. Later, William worked for the Cuban ministry of sugar managing technologies used at over 100 sugar mills and distilleries across the country.
William became very well known in the Cuban sugar industry before leaving the country in 1995 to work for F.C. Schaffer and Associates, a world renown sugar engineering firm. He has worked in over 20 countries around the world and is now settled in Panama where the Schaffer company engineered and project managed three sugar mills and one distillery.
William learned the art of making rum in Cuba and with his generational knowledge of the process and techniques acquired through his travels, he uses his artistic ability to create the formulas of Louisiana Distilleries’ premium rums. His method is rooted in selecting the best distillates, then using his engineering knowledge to design the optimum process for the rums’ production combined with the special touch of his long-term practical experience. William designed Louisiana Distilleries’ production process and is in charge of creating our rums.
Elio Villasmil, Ph.D, Plant & Distillation Manager, Louisiana
Elio Villasmil earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Chemical Engineering
from La Universidad del Zulia (LUZ) in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and later completed his Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
While at LUZ, Elio excelled in fermentation, process control, and product quality, eventually teaching the university’s Industrial Fermentation Course (2011-2014). He has in-depth food and beverage industry experience in quality control and product development in Venezuela, Mexico, and the United States.
While pursuing his Ph.D., he began working directly with companies on formulation and sensory evaluation for different food and beverage products. It was during this time, Elio’s passion for the art and science of rum making began eventually leading his talents to Louisiana Distilleries. Here, he oversees the formulation, distillation, process standardization, and sensory evaluation of spirits to ensure every batch delivers a consistent flavor profile.
