The craft-spirit craze is booming in the U.S., with the opening of new world-class small distilleries around the country—there are currently over 750 independent American distillers that are challenging global brands. Whiskey represents 37 percent of the product made by these craft labels, with gin at 13 percent, vodka at 12 percent, and rum at 10 percent. Similar to wine in 1980s and beer in the 1990s, there is an incredible demand for small-batch liquors across the nation. And as today’s consumers eat with a conscience, often opting to support small farmers by choosing to buy and eat locally sourced foods, it only makes sense that they would do the same with their spirits. To keep up with the tourism demand, independent distilleries have started to focus on the design of their headquarters and tasting rooms to attract discerning visitors. Here, we’ve chosen 17 of our favorite spirit brands whose incredible distilleries should make it into your next summer road trip.
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Ocelot Brewing Company, Sterling, VA
Take your pick: hoppy, malty, sour—Ocelot Brewing Company has them all. This Virginia brewery typically has 15 to 20 beers fresh on tap, and you can sample each and every one. The knowledgeable bartenders are quick to make suggestions and just might introduce you to your new favorite beer. Ocelot is known for playing great music, often has food trucks parked outside, and is a dog-friendly environment. 23600 Overland Dr., Sterling, Virginia; ocelotbrewing.com
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Harpoon Brewery, Boston, Massachusetts
Right on the Boston waterfront, Harpoon is a both a beer garden and a brewery. Now known around the globe, Harpoon was founded by three friends who had an affinity for beer drinking and brewing. The brewery’s tour guides are enthusiastic and full of information, and the beer selection takes up several massive chalkboards. Learn all about the ingredients used, the brewing and fermenting process, and how the products are packaged during a quick tour of the facilities. 306 Northern Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts; harpoonbrewery.com
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Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, New York
Once a neighborhood favorite, Brooklyn Lager can now be found in bars worldwide. Journey to where it originated in trendy Williamsburg. There, a team of passionate beer enthusiasts will give you a tour around the brewery and let you sample from a wide range of brews. A huge supporter of the arts and local community, the brewery hosts plenty of music and food-related events to enjoy alongside your cold beer. 79 N. 11th St. Brooklyn, New York;brooklynbrewery.com
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Paladin Brewing Tavern, Austintown, Ohio
This rustic brewery is a small-town tavern in appearance, but boasts an impressively buzzing atmosphere. With 12 delicious craft beers to try and a pizza vendor right outside, it’s the perfect place to spend a weekend evening with friends and family. 6520 Mahoning Ave. (Rt. 18), Austintown, Ohio; paladinbrewing.com
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High West Distillery, Wanship, Utah
A tribute to the old American West, this distillery and its taste room have a historic but refined atmosphere. They offer tours, whiskey tastings, and delicious western cuisine in the gorgeous open dining room. The distillery’s award-winning whiskey is made using a traditional 1,600-gallon copper pot, which you can marvel at on one of the educational tours. 27649 Old Lincoln Hwy., Wanship, Utah; highwest.com
Photo: Courtesy of Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co.
Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co., Fort Worth, Texas
Near downtown Fort Worth, Firestone & Robertson’s 1927 building features Chicago fire brick, old-growth timber beams, 17-foot ceilings, and original windows and doors. The label’s super-premium blended TX Whiskey is a fan favorite (it won Best American Craft Whiskey accolades at the 2013 San Francisco World Spirits Competition). Look out for its bourbon to be released later this year. 901 W. Vickery Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas; frdistilling.com
Photo: Courtesy of Catoctin Creek Distilling
Catoctin Creek Distilling, Purcellville, Virginia
The first craft distillery built in Virginia’s Loudoun County since the pre-Prohibition era sits in the historic Case Building space (a onetime Buick dealership) on Main Street in the town of Purcellville, an hour west of Washington, D.C. Its industrial-chic tasting room, designed by W. A. Brown & Associates, is lit by 56 Edison bulbs and lots of natural light from the original 1920s windows. It’s the perfect place to taste the brand’s handcrafted rye whiskey, which is faithful to the ingredients and methods commonly used in the region during Prohibition. Gin and moonshine are also offered by the distillery, which was founded by Becky and Scott Harris in 2009. 120 W. Main St., Purcellville, Virigina; catoctincreekdistilling.com
Photo: Courtesy of Death’s Door Spirits
Death’s Door Spirits, Middleton, Wisconsin
This producer of vodka, gin, and whiskey is the largest craft distillery in Wisconsin and one of the largest in the region, with an annual capacity in excess of 250,000 cases of spirits. Founder Brian Ellison cites the brand’s locally sourced wheat, barley, and botanicals as being critical to its success and sustainability. 2220 Eagle Dr., Middleton, Wisconsin; deathsdoorspirits.com
Photo: Courtesy of High West Distillery
High West Distillery, Wanship, Utah
High West Distillery’s newest location, opened this past September, is a 30,000-square-foot tasting room and distillery on the Blue Sky Ranch, a working cattle farm in Wanship, Utah, east of Salt Lake City. High West is Utah’s first legal distillery since 1870 and also boasts two popular restaurant spaces in Park City—the world’s only ski-in distillery, High West Distillery & Saloon (a nominee for Best Bar by the James Beard Foundation), and the Nelson Cottage, which offers dinners paired with its aged Rendezvous and Rocky Mountain ryes. 27649 Old Lincoln Hwy., Wanship, Utah; highwest.com
Photo: Mark Jaworski
Hudson Whiskey, Gardiner, New York
Under the Tuthilltown Spirit umbrella is the beloved Hudson Whiskey label, based in New York’s picturesque Hudson Valley. In 2003 it released the first-ever New York state–produced bourbon, as well as the state’s first legal pot-distilled whiskey since Prohibition. Ninety percent of the grains used are sourced from within 90 miles, and each hand-waxed, hand-numbered bottle of Baby Bourbon, Double Charred Whiskey, and Maple Cask Rye is produced in Gardiner, New York, on a 26-acre property along the Shawangunk River that uses primarily solar power to offset its carbon footprint. 4 Grist Mill Lane; hudsonwhiskey.com
Photo: Courtesy of New York Distilling Company
New York Distilling Company, Brooklyn
The Williamsburg-based brand produces several types of gin along with two rye whiskeys. The distillery and cocktail bar is housed in a cool industrial building that was home to a rag factory in the 1950s and ’60s. 79 Richardson St., Brooklyn; nydistilling.com
Photo: Courtesy of Re:Find Distillery
Re:Find Distillery, Paso Robles, California
Re:Find in California’s Paso Robles wine country is a craft distillery annually producing about 2,500 cases of grape-based vodka, gin, and whiskey. The husband-and-wife team of Alex and Monica Villicana have been vintners for 23 years, and they ferment, distill, age, and bottle their whiskeys in a 5,000-square-foot space at their winery, Villicana Winery and Vineyard. The couple recently purchased the historic Fox Theatre in downtown Paso Robles, which will eventually house their growing business and a tasting room. 2725 Adelaida Rd.; refinddistillery.com
Photo: Courtesy of St. George Spirits
St. George Spirits, Alameda, California
A pioneering craft distillery in the U.S., St. George Spirits has been in operation since 1982 and currently occupies a 65,000-square-foot airplane hangar on the former Alameda Naval Air Station, just across the bay from San Francisco. The building is a monument to mid century industrial engineering and design, with original redwood ceilings and clerestory windows. Master distiller Lance Winters oversees production of malt whiskey, agricole rum, flavored vodka, and gin at the facility, which boasts hand-hammered copper stills and a concrete-and-copper tasting room. 2601 Monarch St.; stgeorgespirits.com
Photo: Courtesy of the Noble Experiment
The Noble Experiment, Brooklyn
Bridget Firtle’s the Noble Experiment is New York City’s only exclusive rum distillery (and the first one to open in 92 years). It produces a unique white rum made from an all-natural, non-GMO sugarcane molasses created by independent farmers in the southern U.S. The Bushwick warehouse features redbrick walls with hand-painted murals, wood ceilings, and a huge wood-framed and glass-windowed loading dock. Most recently, the building was a manufacturing space for handmade furniture, and before that, it was a place where perfume was made. 23 Meadow St.; tnenyc.com
Photo: Courtesy of Tito’s Handmade Vodka
Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Austin, Texas
Corn-made, pot-distilled Tito’s Handmade Vodka is still produced in some of the original spaces built by founder Bert “Tito” Beveridge in the late 1990s. The master distiller fought to create the permit process in Texas to establish his legal right to operate a distillery, and became the first in the state to do so. The pioneering Tito perfected his recipe by employing the same pot-still methods applied to fine single-malt scotches and high-end French cognacs, and his vodka has become one of the fastest-selling and fastest-growing small-batch brands on the market. 8119 Exchange Dr.; titosvodka.com
Photo: Derek Skalko
Woody Creek Distillers, Woody Creek, Colorado
Handpicked, handcrafted, and hand-bottled is the name of the game at Woody Creek Distillers, which takes its farm-to-bottle products very seriously. The brand grows its own potatoes at Scanlan Family Farm in Woody Creek, Colorado, specifically for vodka and gin production and sources local mountain spring water to produce its spirits. The distillery was designed by Skinnyfish Architects principal Richard Klein, and the tasting room and retail space were conceived by Aspen architecture firm Rowland + Broughton with massive windows for visitors to watch the distilling operations. 60 Sunset Dr.; woodycreekdistillers.com
Photo: Courtesy of Balcones Distilling
Balcones Distilling, Waco, Texas
Balcones follows Texas tradition when it comes to whiskey making. It originally produced small-batch spirits out of a former welding shop, but this spring, the distillery expanded to a 65,000-square-foot, four-story brick building in Waco’s historic business district. Crafted from heirloom blue corn, its Baby Blue Whiskey (the first Texas whiskey on the market since Prohibition) and other varieties are produced in three-story-tall copper stills from Forsyths in Scotland. 225 South 11th St.; balconesdistilling.com
Source: Architectural Digest