More Distillery News

Via DCist:

A distillery hoping to produce gin and whiskey in a warehouse in Northeast D.C. received federal approval to move forward with its plans, according to a tweet this afternoon from the New Columbia Distillers. 

John Uselton and Michael Lowe have been converting a 3,500-square-foot warehouse in Ivy City into what will eventually be a distillery, but unlike their brewing brethren nearby, they need federal approval and will be carefully scrutinized by the U.S. Treasury as they begin producing gin and, eventually, whiskey. 

They hope to have their first batch of gin ready by this summer. They're also working with the D.C. Council on legislation that would allow them to host tastings at the distillery.

Can't wait to bike out there on a hot summer day for a cool glass of gin! We talked about the distillery before here.

"Vodka is Boring:" New distillery to open up in DC

Via DCist, the New Columbia Distillery is planning on opening this summer:

With a weeklong distillery internship from Dry Fly Distillery in Spokane, Washington under their belts, an empty 3,500-square-foot warehouse sandwiched between West Virginia Avenue and New York Avenue in the Northeast neighborhood of Ivy City and a new 450-liter still, Uselton and Lowe have started laying the foundation for what they hope a production of 2,000 cases a year of gin and, once properly aged, whiskey. But why gin?

"Vodka is boring! The vodka market is very saturated right now. Additionally, vodka doesn't allow for much if any creativity so it doesn't really appeal to us. We both really enjoy gin and whiskey. And since there is much more wiggle room in the creation of these products, we are able to experiment and make the products unique," said Uselton.

Moreover, Uselton and Lowe add, gin can be made relatively quickly, and they'd like to be producing by the time the warm weather hits and residents start thirsting for gin-and-tonics. (Or Gin Rickeys, of course.) The production of gin will help tide them over as they age their whiskey, which won't likely see the market for another three or four years.

I think this is great news! I'm loosely committed to trying to consume local products, so the more the merrier, especially if they're producing the two spirits I love. The space will be located between West Virginia Ave and New York Ave in the Northeast, and is slated to open this summer.