July 2023
Building
This month, we gave a tour of our building to Governor Greg Gianforte. He is visiting all 56 Montana counties and we were selected to be one of his two stops at small businesses in Beaverhead County. Governor Gianforte was interested in what we’ve done and where we’re headed. He even offered to come down for our future ribbon cutting!
Work is progressing with our architect. He’s incredibly knowledgeable about renovating old buildings and the requirements that apply to us as a distillery. We’re currently mapping out an efficient and up-to-code manufacturing space. Tasting room plans will follow.
Speaking of old buildings, it turns out that the warehouse appears on the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps in 1912, meaning it was built sometime between then and 1905. This is earlier than the Montana Cadastral lists (it says 1920) but aligns with the artifacts Derek has been finding under the floors (see the 1913 Poor Tax receipt in our February newsletter). Here is a selection from a report we received from the Montana State Historic Preservation Office:
However, buildings are depicted on the parcel as early as 1884 according to Sanborn maps; the same buildings are on the 1888 Sanborn map as well, labeled as XXXX. By 1897, the previously depicted buildings are gone and a new building labeled “Chive Laundry” is located on the property. In 1905, the building remains but is no longer labeled as a laundry business. By 1912, a building has been constructed that takes over most of the parcel-it is labeled “hardware and implement warehouse”. The warehouse remains through the 1940 Sanborn; by that time it is indicated on the map that at least part of the warehouse was used for feed and grain storage.
Business
Check out our logo! What do you think? We are incredibly excited about it. The image in the middle was created for us by Montana-based artist Birdie Hall. The three main elements are a big horn sheep jawbone, sagebrush, and moon. All three pay homage to the place we live and the passing of time. Symbolism abounds, plus we love how the text frames them in an arch. Many thanks go to our designer, Lindsay Jaeger, for distilling our vision into such a high proof logo (hah!).
Now, we turn our attention to merchandise. Today, we put in an order for our first stickers (see picture below for the four designs). Later this week, we’ll finalize our first run of hats and shirts. You might be wondering ‘where can I buy?!’ Locals, we’ll be setting up a tent at the Dillon Farmer’s Market later in the summer and hope to have a tent at the Labor Day Bazaar. For those of you farther away, we are working on ecommerce through our website. We’ll keep you all posted.
Distillery
On a recent trip to Missoula, Katrina visited with Ryan Montgomery at Montgomery Distillery. She toured the production space and had a great conversation about lessons learned in their 11 years. On her way out, she picked up a bottle of Montgomery’s Mama Tried High-Rye Bourbon Whiskey. A really lovely sipping whiskey, it starts with a nice spiciness from the rye and eases into caramel notes. Derek recommends it neat, on the rocks, or in a Montana Mule.
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