This past weekend, I had a chance to visit Milk Street Distillery. The distillery is named for Milk Street, the quiet street it is on. Milk Street is located in the small town of Branchville, in the northwest corner of New Jersey.
The exterior of the 125 year old building fits right in with the surroundings.
Passing through the entryway, you are greeted by seating on an enclosed porch, and an inviting wooden bar.
Beyond the bar, you will find a nice waiting area outside the doors to the distillery floor, and a merchandise display including bottled goods, accessories, and books.
The State of New Jersey has strict liquor license laws, and only allows local distilleries to sell product in conjunction with a tour. Self-guided tours are permissable, and many locations settle for handing out a pamphlet and pointing the way.
Milk Street goes a step above, and offers guided tours for no charge (some distilleries charge for guided tours or do not offer them at all). Tastings are available after the tour for a reasonable charge.
Upon walking through the doors from the waiting area, one of the first things you see is JimTom, the distillery cat. Distilleries use grain, and grain attracts rodents. Many distilleries employ a distillery cat to help protect their raw ingredients. IMHO, a good distillery cat is the mark of a good distillery, and JimTom is one of the best.
Our tour was conducted by Gordon Geerhart, who co-owns the operation with his older brother Mike. Gordon gave one of the best tours I’ve ever taken, and I’ve taken many. He provided a lot of good information, and found the perfect balance between not over-simplifying and not being overly technical.
Right inside the entry way, you will see the smaller of two stills, Little Boy. This is used for test runs and recipe formulation.
It wasn’t until we moved further back to the larger still that the signifcance of the name dawned on my. Fat Man is used for larger production runs that will be hand bottled and then used behind the bar or sold to take home.
Clear spirits include two different vodkas (one from rice, and one from corn), a rum made from a combination of molasses and evaporated cane juice, and an unaged rye.
On the brown side, they have three offerings:
– An aged rye made from a 100% rye bill – this is very smooth, and offers a tyipcal rye spice profile with maybe a touch more sweetness than some.
– A malt whiskey – here we find a slightly nutty aroma and of course a malty sweetness. The flavor is soft and mild, similar, in my opinion, to a typical lowland single malt.
– “War Penny Bourbon” – I’ll offer a more in depth review of this one soon, but for now I’ll say that a portion of the mash bill is smoked with cherry wood, offering a unique flavor profile.
All of their whiskeys are smooth and delicious. There are a lot of entries in the craft distilling market, and the Geerhart brothers are one team who are getting it right in every detail, from a quality product to an an enjoyable experience.