# About These "Boutique" Distilleries That Are Springing Up **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 29, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-these-boutique-distilleries-that-are-springing-up/626751 "2012-06-29T23:27:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![azraiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@azraiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/azraiel)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-these-boutique-distilleries-that-are-springing-up/626751/21 "2012-07-02T19:27:53Z")
> [@beagledave](#): > > I don’t know how unique this is to the world of micros, but the [Mississippi River Distilling Company](http://www.mrdistilling.com/index.shtml) in Le Claire, Iowa does a couple of neat things. > > All of their spirits are made with local (within 30 miles) grains. Even their spent grains get recycled. You can also get “batch notes” for every bottle. There is a unique code that you enter at their web site and you get bottling date, which farmer grew the grains, even who (usually volunteers) bottled the hooch. > > Example [here](http://mrdistilling.com/Pages/batch/2012_Cody.htm). They seem to be doing well. They have put out your typical gins and vodkas and also they have put out a bourbon (that sold out two batches instantly) > > You can also [adopt](http://mrdistilling.com/frame/products_adoptabarrel.shtml) a barrel. Yup. Those boys are doing it right. I’m curious about their still setup, as they have a pot still and two eight-plate rectification columns. And an infuser (far right, stainless steel). The setup provides a decent vodka, but probably not a world-class one. They can make anything and everything else under the sun, though. And yes, with the same ethos I wanted to bring (and that Dry Fly does, noted above). Source your grains locally, mash from scratch, and sell a great product. You’ll notice they talk about taking a very narrow cut, which I addressed above. I’m sure (and I hope) they’re repurposing the rest of the run into a mixed whiskey run. ---
**Author:** ![azraiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@azraiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/azraiel)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-these-boutique-distilleries-that-are-springing-up/626751/22 "2012-07-02T19:49:01Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > **azraiel** , I’m curious about the difficulty or lack thereof that a new distillery would encounter in getting it’s product(s) onto liquor store shelves. Given the vast number of producers out there and the tremendous amount of product already on liquor store shelves, I would think a new producer would have a difficult time being picked up by a distributor and an even more difficult time getting retail stores to shelve it. Yet I get the impression from your OP that had you been able to get up and running, distribution would have been pretty much automatic. Is that impression correct, or would you face new hurdles in trying to bring your finished wine to market? Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide. No, it’s not automatic. But it was the least of my worries. Distribution is its own special nightmare. I live in a three-tier state, with producers, distributors, and retailers. I was confident for several reasons. First, we’d met with one of the state’s three distributors, and they were keenly interested. Second, we were setting up in or near a fair-sized city that is completely into organics, local production, and local business. Third, one of my best friend’s family owns a farm winery, are close to the other area vitners, and are active in state politics/legislation. And all of the vitners I’ve met are keen to produce their own port (which requires a distillery), and a personal relationship (even if once or twice removed) really helps to facilitate that. Fourth, I’m semi-active and well known in the local brewer’s guild, several members of which either own liquor stores or are their primary buyers. In short, I knew I’d have two or three of the most popular liquor stores in town pushing my product. If you start off modestly, a potential customer base of 100,000 is more than enough to keep the business afloat. Time, rep, and sales will facilitate expansion. So… relationships. I had (have) relationships with a distribution company, many of the local vitners, most of the local brewers, and one of the two distillers extant in the state. ---
**Author:** ![azraiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@azraiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/azraiel)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-these-boutique-distilleries-that-are-springing-up/626751/23 "2012-07-02T19:57:02Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > OK, I’ll be the pedantic jackass, but isn’t “skunking” specific to beer? As in, the reaction of light to certain hops chemicals that gives a particular skunk odor, which would not be present in distilled sprits? Pedrantry noted, accepted, and I’m not sure. The ‘skunk’ smell is unique to brewing, but I’ve always used the term to describe a ruined bottle/cask of wine/spirit. May just be me. A bottle of wine is ‘corked’. A bottle of beer is ‘skunked’. A bottle of spirits is…? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-these-boutique-distilleries-that-are-springing-up/626751/24 "2012-07-02T20:29:27Z")
> [@azraiel](#): > > A bottle of wine is ‘corked’. A bottle of beer is ‘skunked’. A bottle of spirits is…? Mourned. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-these-boutique-distilleries-that-are-springing-up/626751/25 "2012-07-02T20:30:58Z")
> [@azraiel](#): > > A bottle of wine is ‘corked’. A bottle of beer is ‘skunked’. A bottle of spirits is…? Contaminated. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-these-boutique-distilleries-that-are-springing-up/626751/26 "2012-07-03T01:57:08Z")
> [@azraiel](#): > > A bottle of wine is ‘corked’. A bottle of beer is ‘skunked’. A bottle of spirits is…? Exorcised. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-these-boutique-distilleries-that-are-springing-up/626751/27 "2012-07-03T02:22:14Z")
Thanks for the answer, **azraiel**. Sounds like the process for most would be about as difficult as I imagined. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-these-boutique-distilleries-that-are-springing-up/626751.md?page=1)