When Zach Brinley graduated from Penn State in 2000, his career path seemed set in stone.

He grew up with Penn State. Both his mother and father are Nittany Lion alumni. Brinley remembers watching Penn State games on television with his father.

So when it came time to choose a college, this was his main choice.

Graduating with a degree in finance, Brinley had already interned with J.P. Morgan before landing a job on Wall Street with Prudential Financial.

At the time, the job market was as great as his potential to move up in the field. Brinley lived in Hoboken, N.J., with friends, adoring the prospect of the power and money associated with working in the financial capital of the country.

But, "it was a tough time to be there," the 25-year-old said reminiscently. In three years, the company changed its name three times, going through several mergers.

He was a low man in the system.

The money wasn't really there.

"It really got boring for him," Bob Brinley, Zach's father, said about his son's job. Instead of trading stocks, Zach would sit and watch Bloomberg Television all day.

"I don't think that was actually him," said James Pollaci, Zach's long-time friend.

After a few years of this routine, it was time for a drastic change for Zach -- that change was trading Wall Street for the Caribbean island of St. Kitts.

Zach, along with his father Bob and mother Maryann, have developed and introduced their own brand of vanilla rum, appropriately named Brinley Gold, to the liquor market.

The project began about three years ago as the economy began to tank. Bob's electronics business in St. Kitts was beginning to struggle; Zach's position on Wall Street was less than fulfilling.

Looking for ways to stay on the island the family has loved since 1984, Bob and Zach decided to try something new. Part of the electronics business had already left St. Kitts for the Philippines.

After some thought, however, the two Brinley men recalled the rum distillery down the road and brainstormed the idea of importing their own rum.

For Zach, this was his opportunity to work with his father.

"I always loved the idea of working with my dad," he said. "But never with electronics."

The rum company gave Zach his chance. And after the 2002 International Rum Festival in St. John's, Newfoundland, where Brinley's Gold Vanilla Rum won a gold medal, he decided to stay with his father.

"We were really novices at the whole thing ... we didn't expect to win anything," Zach said.

Pollaci, who grew up in the same neighborhood as Zach but didn't meet him until arriving at Penn State in 1996, said Zach has seemed looser since the switch.

"I think he gets more satisfaction out of doing this," Pollaci said.

Now, the family is trying to distribute its brand of rum across the state and the rest of the country, competing against market giants Bacardi, Captain Morgan, Castillo and Ronrico -- with some success.

Brinley Gold is available at Tony's Big Easy, 129 Pugh St., as well as liquor stores throughout State College. Now, Zach is focusing on distributing the premium rum to bars across New Jersey.

He spent Wednesday phoning "leads" -- places that may like to carry the rum. Sometimes the sale is as easy as having a drink with the bar's owner. Other times it ends in failure.

But after all that's happened, Zach says it's difficult to decide whether he would make the decision to leave his day job and enter the liquor business, especially if the economy was in a different position.

"Who's to say we would have even started the rum business?" he said, almost talking to himself.

His father -- and boss -- agreed.

"I'm glad he came on board," Bob said. "He's the right age for this."

The business has also given the family a chance to connect in ways they never imagined.

On top of family business trips to the island, the entrepreneurial effort has allowed the family to grow together rather than apart.

At first, Bob was afraid working 20 feet away from each other would cause internal strife. But now, he's not so concerned.

"It's great," Bob said about working with Zach. "There's a real joy in working with your son or daughter when it's going positively."

Maryann agreed with excitement in her voice.

"This has been the most fun family adventure," she said. "I worried that Bob and Zach would get on each other's nerves, but it worked out very well."

One thing is for certain, though. Zach wouldn't be as happy as he is now had he stayed on Wall Street.

"You want to do something you love," he said.