10/21/2026
What does a modern bourbon brand have to do with the history of Italian immigrants in Red Bank, NJ? 🥃🇮🇹
More than you might think.
My buddy Luke DiTella is one of the founders of Frank August, an American bourbon brand built around the idea of bringing tradition and modernity together.
Even the name tells that story.
Frank is named for Luke’s father, representing practicality, honesty, tradition, and the values of an everyday American man.
August, named after another founder’s son, represents the next generation, modernity, and looking toward the future.
You can see that philosophy in the bottle itself. Clean, minimalist, and designed with a removable label that allows the bottle to take on another life.
And that got us talking about something I’ve spent years researching: the Italian immigrants who came to Red Bank in the late 1800s and made a living collecting, sorting, cleaning, and reselling discarded materials.
They were often called ragpickers or junkmen. They collected everything from old clothing and metal to bottles and other materials that could be reused or sold.
It was an early form of recycling, long before we thought about sustainability the way we do today.
And these were some of the people who helped build the businesses, families, and communities that shaped Red Bank.
I love when a conversation about something modern takes us right back into our local history.
Different generations. Different industries. Same idea: finding value in what came before us while creating something new.
Check out Frank August and the story behind the brand.
