Armenian-Inspired · Family-Made · Pittsburgh, PA
A Name on the Label
Is a Promise Kept
The story of an Armenian family, 30 years in the making, bet on a bottle.
Armen Geronian
Founder & Distiller
The Story Behind the Bottle
Armen Geronian
— The Man Behind It All
Armen Geronian spent over three decades building a career in technology. He was good at it. But the corporate world was never the dream — the dream was something he carried from his Armenian heritage, from family traditions older than any software company.
Then, in 2019, he walked away from everything predictable. He put his family's savings, his own name, and his Armenian heritage into a bottle. Not a marketing concept. Not a brand story invented in a conference room. A real bet, made by a real person, on something real.
"At the end of the day, it is my name that is on the label."
— Armen Geronian, Founder
That sentence explains everything about how Armen's Barrels operates: no shortcuts in sourcing, no compromise on equipment, no preservatives beyond the minimum. Because the name on the label is the owner's name.
The Man Running the Still
Phil Ejzak has spent five years running the still at Armen's Barrels — specializing in vodka, gin, and brandy. His engineering background means every batch is measured, logged, and optimized. The rest of the staff call him the Mad Scientist — not without reason.
Phil came to distilling from a manufacturing background, where precision and repeatability aren't optional. He brought the same data-driven discipline to spirits: if you can't explain why something works, you don't actually know that it works.
The Journey
From Dream to Bottle
Three Decades in Technology
Armen builds a successful career in tech — but the dream of crafting spirits the Armenian way never leaves. The family traditions, the old methods, the sense that shortcuts are a kind of dishonesty — it all simmers in the background for years.
The Leap
Armen walks away from corporate life and founds Armen's Barrels LLC in Washington, PA. Family savings on the line. Name on the label. No halfway measures — the FLORENA line is named after his wife, Florena, the inspiration behind everything.
Building the Distillery
Equipment sourced with the same obsessive attention to quality that would go into every bottle. Organic American corn. Coconut shell filtration. Oak barrels. The distillery at 10 McCoy Ln, Washington, PA takes shape — including The LAB, the in-person tasting experience.
FLORENA Reaches Pennsylvania
FLORENA Diamond Organic Vodka, Butterfly Pea Gin, Chokko Dark Chocolate Liquеur, Latte White Chocolate Liquеur, and the Barrel-Aged Blackberry Sangria begin appearing in Fine Wine & Good Spirits locations across Pennsylvania. The collection grows to 6 products.
100+ PA Stores & Growing
FLORENA spirits are now available in over 100 Pennsylvania liquor stores and online through retail partners statewide. The brand is expanding — building on the Armenian heritage angle that no major competitor can replicate, because it's genuinely Armen's story.
The Name Behind the Brand
Why FLORENA?
Every product in the FLORENA line is named after Armen's wife, Florena — the person whose support made the whole venture possible. His kids are the reason the company started. His wife's name is on every bottle as a permanent reminder of what the work is actually for.
The distilling traditions of Armenia — where crafting spirits runs centuries deep, where winemaking predates written history, where oak-aging was standard practice long before it became fashionable in the West — those traditions are the heritage behind every recipe Armen makes.
This isn't a brand story. It's a family story, and the bottle is just how it gets shared.
"Any business will be successful if driven by people who are passionate about what they are doing."
— Armen Geronian, Founder
How We Work
The Principles Behind
Every Bottle
No Shortcuts in Sourcing
Organic American corn. Coconut shell filtration. Real oak barrel aging. Every input is chosen because it produces a better result — not because it’s cheaper or faster.
Your Name Is Your Word
When your name is on the label, every bottle is a personal statement. There’s no hiding behind a corporate brand — which means there’s no acceptable reason to cut corners.
Armenian Craft Tradition
Armenia has one of the oldest distilling traditions in the world. Those methods — slow, careful, built on patience — are the operating philosophy here. Not nostalgia. Better results.
Family First, Always
The company started because of family and is run for family. Florena’s name is on every bottle. The kids are the reason. The Armenian heritage is the foundation. None of that is marketing.
Passion Over Profit
Armen left a lucrative tech career because the craft meant more than the salary. That decision shapes every operational choice: quality first, growth second, shortcuts never.
Six Distillations, Zero Compromise
FLORENA Diamond vodka is distilled six times and filtered through coconut shell carbon. The process is longer. It costs more. It produces a cleaner, smoother spirit — and that’s the only reason it matters.
Roots & Heritage
Built on Centuries of
Armenian Craft Tradition
Armenia has one of the oldest distilling traditions in the world — a country where winemaking predates written history and where the craft of aging spirits in oak was passed down for generations before it became fashionable in the West.
Armen Geronian brought that tradition to Pittsburgh. Not as a marketing concept, but as a genuine operating philosophy: use the old methods because they produce better results. Barrel-age everything. Take no shortcuts. Put your name on what you make.
Armenian Winemaking
Armenia is home to the world's oldest known winery, dating back over 6,100 years — a tradition that runs deeper than most countries’ recorded history.
First in Pennsylvania
Armen’s Barrels is the only Armenian-owned craft distillery in Pennsylvania — operating in keyword territory no national brand can credibly claim.
ՀԱՅԱՍՏԱՆ
Armenia
Armenian Organic Spirits · Pittsburgh, PA
Taste the Story
for Yourself
FLORENA vodka, gin, liqueurs & barrel-aged wines — made in Pittsburgh, inspired by Armenia, available online across Pennsylvania.