
A microdistillery is a small, often
boutique
A () is a retail shop that deals in high end fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in anc ...
-style
distillery
Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...
established to produce beverage grade spirit alcohol in relatively small quantities, usually done in single batches (as opposed to larger distillers' continuous distilling process). While the term is most commonly used in the United States, micro-distilleries have been established in Europe for many years, either as small
cognac
Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime.
Cogn ...
distilleries supplying the larger cognac houses, or as distilleries of
single malt whisky
Single malt whisky is malt whisky from a single Distillation, distillery.
Single malts are typically associated with single malt Scotch, though they are also produced in various other countries. Under the United Kingdom's Scotch Whisky Regulat ...
originally produced for the blended
Scotch whisky market, but whose products are now sold as niche single malt brands. The more recent development of micro-distilleries can now also be seen in locations as diverse as London,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, and South Africa.
Throughout much of the world, small distilleries operate throughout communities of various sizes, mostly without being given a special description. Due to the extended period of
Prohibition in the United States
The Prohibition era was the period from 1920 to 1933 when the United States prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, an ...
, however, most small distillers were forced out of business, leaving only the corporate-dominated
megadistilleries to resume operation when Prohibition was repealed to produce small batch brands. Most microdistilleries in South Africa ceased to exist when legislation was introduced in 1964 that made it almost impossible for small, private distilleries to operate viably. The legislation was relaxed again in 2003 and although most distilling expertise was lost, it was recovered by a new generation of microdistillers and has grown since.
A recent trend in this segment of the distilling industry is for megadistillers to create their own micro-distillery within their current operation. The
Makers Mark distillery is owned by
Suntory
(commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and ...
and the
Buffalo Trace distillery is owned by
The Sazerac Company (which also owns the
A. Smith Bowman microdistillery) are now producing specialty bourbon brands with small stills.
Movement
The modern microdistilling movement grew out of the beer
microbrewing trend, which originated in the United Kingdom in the 1970s and quickly spread throughout the United States in the following decades.
While still in its infancy, the popularity of microdistilling and microdistilled
spirits is expanding consistently, with many microbreweries and small wineries establishing distilleries within the scope of their brewing or
winemaking
Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its Ethanol fermentation, fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over ...
operations. Other microdistilleries are farm-based.
Anchor Brewing Company,
Ballast Point Brewing Company, and
Dogfish Head are examples of American craft breweries that have begun expanding into microdistillation.
Leopold Bros. is an example of a microdistiller that began as a
microbrewery
Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...
, and now operates as a distillery alone.
Some of the newer microdistilleries produce only spirits. Plain and seasonally-flavored
vodka
Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...
s are popular products.
[ As with the emergence of microbrewing, California and Oregon have experienced the highest number of microdistillery openings. Significant recent growth has also occurred in the Midwest.][ Microdistilleries for gin and vodka have also now started to re-emerge in London, England, after being restricted and effectively banned for over a hundred years due to UK government restrictions on still sizes, which have now been partially relaxed. There are now five licensed distilleries in London: Beefeater, and Thames Distillers, and four microdistilleries: the City of London Distillery, The London Distillery Company, ]Sacred Microdistillery
Sacred Spirits (previously known as Sacred Microdistillery) is a microdistillery in Highgate, London. It distills its spirits under a vacuum in glassware, and thus at a lower temperature than traditional pot stills, which operate at atmospheric ...
and Sipsmith. At the same time, European micro-distilleries have been a key element in the absinthe renaissance in several countries, including Switzerland.
South Africa has experienced relatively big growth in microdistilleries and produces mainly pot-distilled brandies, fruit brandies, fruit-based eau de vie (locally called mampoer), husk-based spirits (like Italian Grappa), and a wide range of liqueurs and flavoured vodkas. Distillique is one of the few training academies worldwide which provides craft and microdistiller training courses on a regular monthly basis for microdistillers. South African microdistillers include the Jorgensen's Distillery, Dalla Cia Distillery, Nyati JJJ Distillery, Schoemanati Distillery, Tanagra Distillery and Wilderer Distillery.
In the 1990s the liquor industry established the notion of super premium spirits offering a higher-quality (and usually more elaborately packaged) product at a higher price. The higher prices created an opportunity for small distilleries to profitably produce niche brands of exotic spirits. The early 21st Century saw the creation of hundreds of such distilleries producing products that were designed and marketed in a way that resembled celebrated restaurants more than alcoholic spirits marketing. The growth of craft distilleries and breweries was partly driven by consumer interest in greater variety, perceived quality, and support for locally owned businesses.
According to the American Distilling Institute, there were 50 microdistilleries operating in the United States in 2005, but by 2012 this number had increased to 250. Numerous competitions and publications were formed to support the burgeoning sub-culture of spirits. By 2019, there were over 2,000 microdistilleries in the United States, and the market share of craft spirits was steadily growing.
It is no longer the case that microdistilleries are producing at the premium end of the market only; the established brands are under threat from local microdistilleries at all price points (with the possible exception of the ultra discount supermarket brands such as Sainsbury's and Tesco's "value" brands, which are close to loss leaders).
The COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
negatively impacted the microdistillery industry, as bars and pubs closed, and the economy shrank. This marked a sharp downturn in the previously steady growth of microdistilleries in the United States, in a phenomenon compared to the impact of Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
.
Innovation
Microdistillers often experiment with new techniques to produce new flavors. Tony Conigliaro uses a rotavap (i.e. glassware not copper pot) on a small scale to produce distilled spirits which change from day to day in his bar, and Ian Hart uses vacuum equipment to conduct distillation at much-reduced temperatures, resulting in less cooked aromatics.
U.S. regulation
The U.S. Government regulates distilleries to a high degree and currently does not distinguish its treatment of distilleries in terms of size. This stringent regulation has prevented microdistilling from developing as rapidly as microbrewing which enjoys relatively more relaxed government control. A number of states, such as California, Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
, Iowa
Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
, Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
, Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
, Washington, West Virginia
West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
, and Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
have passed legislation reducing the stringent regulations for small distilleries that were a holdover from prohibition.[ The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) are responsible for enforcing Federal statutes as they apply to all manufacturers of beverage alcohol.
]
South African regulations
In South Africa, microdistilleries are legally defined as distilleries with an annual capacity of fewer than 2 million litres of spirits. These microdistilleries are regulated through provincial laws rather than the national liquor laws (as prescribed in the Liquor Act of South Africa, Act 59 of 2003).
Craft distillery
The American Craft Spirits Association defines a "craft distillery" as a distillery that produces fewer than 750,000 gallons per year; is independently owned and operated (with a greater than 75% equity stake, plus operational control), and is transparent regarding its ingredients, its distilling and bottling location; its distilling and bottling process, and its aging process.
See also
*Distillation
Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...
*Microbrewery
Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...
* Portland Oregon Distilleries
* Third wave of coffee
Footnotes
References
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External links
Burning Still , Distilling Community
Distillique craft and micro distilling
{{Authority control
Distilleries
Restaurants by type
Alcohol industry