First, there was the craft beer boom. Now, the number of small-production distilleries is on the rise. (Actually, it has been for some time—there are now nearly 800 distilleries in the U.S., more than 10 times the number of a decade ago.)
Near home, consider Pinckney Bend Distillery (1101 Miller, New Haven, Mo., 573-237-5559), opened in 2010 and named after a bend in the Missouri River that at one time gave steamboats quite a challenge.
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Today, Pinckney Bend Distillery makes more than just whiskey. There’s a range of small-batch wares: gin, vodka, and a line of corn- and rye-based whiskeys. The distillery has received nods from around the globe. Last year, it was awarded both silver and bronze in London at the International Wine & Spirits Competition. The distillery took double gold at the equally formidable San Francisco World Spirits Competition. “We won gold on everything, except our vodka,” says spokesperson Ralph Haynes, “which we never entered.”
Beyond the awards, though, Pinckney Bend has some novel ideas. The distillery allows customers to buy their own 15-gallon barrels of whiskey, wait for them to mature, and eventually bottle the contents. The barrels cost around $3,300 each and supply about 65 bottles. (That works out to about $50 per bottle.) The distillery is beginning to cultivate heirloom varieties of corn, too. “We’re developing seed corn from several pre-hybrid varieties,” says Haynes. “We’ll be selling like it used to taste.”
