Photo credit: Janet Donovan
Had it been the 1930s, American Prohibition Agent Eliot Ness would have been in his element rounding up guests attending the press night at the District Distilling Co. on 14th and U Streets where spirits were brewing on the premises.”A group of people that shared a passion about spirits really wanted to start up a distillery and had an opportunity to do a combination restaurant distillery pub here in a neighborhood,” part owner Chae Yi told Hollywood on the Potomac. “It’s something a little bit different than starting up a distillery in let’s say some industrial part of town. We were looking for a neighborhood feel, thus 14th and U Streets in the Southwest corner.”
Yi described the process of getting a license for District Distilling Co. this way: “We got the very first distillery pub license issued in the district, so we’re pretty proud of that. We have a lot of dedicated staff that kind of stuck with us throughout the entire process because it was a little bit long and curvy. There were a couple of detours, but we’re very happy to be where we are right now. I think that it will be really interesting once we get the tours rolling and production on its way. We’re in the process of making our own liquor. We’re going to open up with vodka, rum, gin and some bourbon that we’re blending for starters. We’re going to work on more spirits and we’re planning on having a Spirits Watch where we actually can showcase what we’re making in about a month or so.”
Matt Strickland
Matt Strickland is the head distiller. “I’ve been working here on this project for about ten months now and we’re making a bunch of different spirits. We’re going to be starting out with things like vodka, blended whiskies, a little bit of rums, some gins. Basically what we are doing is we’re taking grain and we’re mixing it with hot water trying to get all the starches and sugars out of the grain. The yeast will eat those starches and sugars and you’ll wind up with alcohol at the end of say a week or two.”
“We’re making a beer to start,” Strickland added. “What we do with our beer versus what the brewers do with it is kind of what separates us. With the brewers, their yeast eats all the sugars in the grain. They have like a 6% beer. They carbonate it. They package it and it winds up in a can or a bottle or in a keg or something. What we do is the yeast eats all the sugars and the grain and then we take that alcohol, so maybe a 6 to 10% beer and we pump it into the stills over there and we distill it.”
“Alcohol has a lower boiling point than water,” he explained, “and as the tank heats up and you get to around 173, 175, the alcohol and a little bit of water will start kind of going into a vapor. It will travel up around all these pipes and then we just kind of supply some cold water to re-condense those vapors back into a liquid and out we have our alcohol. We don’t believe in rushing the process, especially Vodka. I know a lot of guys will come along and they’ll ferment stuff really quickly and you wind up with some kind of rough material. It’s not the kind of product we’re really interested in making. Vodka kind of gets a bad wrap because it doesn’t have a lot of flavor to it. The truth is you can make a really nice tasting vodka, if you actually take the time. If you want something you can get here, I would look for any of the Polish Potato Vodkas, like Chopin.”
Chef Justin Bittner’s menu is Regional American with basil and local produce there’s a great chef’s table that’s counter side to the kitchen.
Chef Justin Bittner
Burke Podany has been in town for about five years and is a familiar around-town bartender. We asked him what kind of crowd he thought District Distilling Co. would attract: “I believe it’s going to be a lot of the neighborhood right here at 14th and U but we’re going to be a destination for DC plus a lot of people come here from all over the country and all over the world. I think since we’re the first distillery that has a restaurant and bar attached to it in the district, that we’re going to see people from all over. But also, DC is building up and changing so quickly – you know, like new apartments are about to open here and all up and down this whole corridor. I think that we’re going to service everybody.”
Burke Podany
Guests toured the pub – started with Champagne, ended with specially crafted cocktails, ate Fried oysters, Seared Scallops with English Peas, Crisp Suckling Pig, Cast Iron Butcher Steak with celery root and parsnip puree………. skipped dessert, drank Champagne….step and repeat.
Allison Priebe and Kate Gibbs
