Tag: non-GMO (Page 1 of 2)

The First Two Years

Those First 11 cases, sold out and in backorder within 48 hours. Whew!

Those First 11 cases, sold out and in backorder within 48 hours. Whew!

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The early days of making whiskey cuts in a pint jelly jar.

Glen and I have something about twos. Our birthdays, both in December, are on days ending in twos. Our punkin’ was born the second month of 2010. And for two years this past weekend, we began making our first batches of moonshine. Back then it was with a 10-gallon still made from a lobster pot, that sat near the barn door of our previous horse barn, and we spent those weekends in June, making our first 11 cases of 100 proof corn whiskey to ship to WVABCA in Nitro, WV, in the hopes of selling to the stores in the Eastern Panhandle and throughout the state. It takes two weeks to make moonshine, grain to jar as we say, with two main ingredients, local corn and local water.

Photo Credit: Rick Dugan


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Glen discussing corn harvesting with Lyle Tabb, our corn supplier with the next generation Tabb

It was about family and friends, coming together, and bringing back a part of our culture and heritage through a shared experience around a jar, something sorely missing in today’s busy society. A dear friend and mentor told us to capture as much of these moments in photo, because we’ll blink and it will change fast. I can’t believe how much has changed, and yet we are still here on the weekends, bringing family and friends, old and new, together over stories and tasting the promise of our yearling bourbon whiskey.

Two years later and we have grown to a second building for production and opened our doors for folks to come a visit our whiskey making distillery life as it unfolds.

Before the storm January 2016

Installing the new destillers, 150-gallon each!

The Horse Barn, now a tasting room and for barrel aging bourbon

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Ribbon cutting ceremony, June 3, 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Click on link here to view a feature on our Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on local WHAG-TV.

Tours & Tastings

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We are now open for tours and tastings here at Black Draft Distillery! To schedule a tour, please contact us at 540-686-0100 or email us (info@blackdraftdistillery.com) to let us know what date/time and how many are in your group.

Tours available during 11am to 4pm, Fridays and Saturdays based on availability to provide you a welcome and warm experience.

Tours include a live production viewing (based on distilling schedule), a free sampling of our moonshine and bourbon whiskey (must be 21 or older with valid ID), on-site Moonshine Spirit bottle sales, in addition to T-Shirts, Moonshine Pourers, Decals, Barrel Heads, and more!

We look forward to seeing you here at Black Draft Farm! And of course, we are Family Friendly too! If you have any questions, visit our Contact page for more details and to schedule an appointment.

Back Porch Summer Nights

As the sun sets on the last few weeks of summer, I enjoy the quiet moments of sippin’ sweet tea on our back porch that overlooks the barn. I hope you are taking time to take in the cooler nights and enjoy this recipe:

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  • 1-2 oz. First Harvest Moonshine
  • 2  Tbsp. of Lemon (1/2 lemon)
  • 16 oz. of Sweet Tea of your choice (Arizona Sweet Tea is recommended)

Fill half glass with ice; add moonshine, lemon, tea and stir. Garnish with peach wedge and sprig of basil (optional).

This recipe works with blackberries too!

Shine On!

If you’d like to see a video on how to make this cocktail, click here.

 

Country Roads

Time to hit the roads this springtime and visit all the beautiful, wonderful parts of my home state of West-by God-Virginia!  The sweet spring air is calling me to the mountain roads to visit the great folks here in the state and discover the hidden gems along the way. I enjoy meeting all the small businesses that are the backbone of our state, the mom and pop places as I affectionately call them.

As I start out on my journey, I begin by sharing  one of the newest restaurants to open here in downtown Martinsburg, Boyd’s SteakhouseDSC_0006.

Owner H.D. Boyd turned this once notorious speakeasy location into a fine dining steakhouse with a wink and a nod to the Prohibition era, including a bar purchased from the estate of Al Capone, now serving up bourbon and and our moonshine in style.

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Five cocktail recipes featuring First Harvest Moonshine are on the menu, including one of the best all time recipes Glen and I have ever tasted, called ‘Almost Heaven.’ It is the go-to cocktail for friends and family to sip on a warm spring day or savor over Blue Ridge sunsets from our back deck.

 

 

Mixologist maven Caren served up my cocktail and shared a little secret on how to create this shine-tini at home. We call it ‘Country Roads.’

Stayed tuned for more stories from our adventures from the road.

Shine On!

 

 

 

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