Small producers blaze new

trails across the country

with whiskey and more

By Lew Bryson

hen a whiskey-making business restarts

on a family farm after a hiatus extend­

ing back to Prohibition, using nearly

200-year-old stills and a recipe from

the same era, it deserves notice. Amid

a flood of new distillers across North America,

the proprietors of places like Indian Creek Dis­

tillery, near Dayton, Ohio, stand out for their

faith in historic equipment as well as their ad­

herence to traditional techniques and even

vintage farming methods.

With the number of small distilleries in the

United States growing rapidly-it recently

topped 750, according to the American Dis­

tilling Institute-there's been debate over what

to call them.

The term "small distillery," like "microdis­

tillery," is descriptive but potentially limiting,

so "craft" is becoming the nomenclature of

choice. But a few distilleries are setting them­

selves apart even further and deserve to be

called "artisanal." It's a term that has been

overused in a number of categories, from axes

to pickles. But in the word's strictest sense­

something produced in limited quantities, us­

ing traditional methods-some small distillers

squarely fit the bill. What follows are profiles

of some of the most distinctive and exciting

artisanal producers in the country today.

NOV. 15, 2015 • WINE SPECTATOR 105