As much as I enjoy their tasting room, its sometimes a bigger pleasure to enter
Montgomery Distillery through the back door. There is just a certain amount of intrigue, like walking up to the entrance of an underground speakeasy, associated with it. No brass, no fanfare, not even a logo to announce what lies within. Just a wrought iron gate and a roll up garage door.
Inside, however, beneath the cold glow of fluorescent lights, one is almost sure to encounter the warm handshake of Ryan Montgomery, which is what really makes coming in the back door such a sublime experience. Ryan could easily be the poster child for craft distilling; curious, inspired, enterprising, industrious are all words that leap to mind while talking with him. His enthusiasm for craft is infectious, and every visit with him another opportunity to learn and grow.
Growing is currently what Montgomery Distillery is all about. With a solid foundation established on the success of their
Quicksilver Vodka and
Whyte Laydie Gin, Ryan is now focusing on the spirit that really gets him excited: whiskey.
Whiskey is the bane of all microdistillers. Its the spirit everyone wants most to make, yet the one that is most difficult to launch from a financial standpoint. Investing in a product that may take a year or more to return a single dime? Hardly the most sensible tact for a fledgling business.
Thankfully for us there are people like Ryan, people with the perfect ratio of business savvy, daring and faith to take on the daunting task of creating something wonderful, then shelving it for one to 30 years. All in the name of taste.
When I stopped by to take a look, Ryan related their plans in whirlwind fashion, sharing information not only on
their whiskey but other offerings they are experimenting with, such as an aquavit. He told me about their recent collaboration with
Big Sky Brewing, in which Montgomery distilled 1200 gallons of
Scapegoat Pale Ale down to one barrel of spirits, casking it in a
Buffalo Trace bourbon barrel that had already been filled once with Big Sky's Imperial Barley wine. In another interesting development, Montgomery had acquired an often hard-to-come-by sherry cask that was to also be used in their whiskey-aging efforts. Finally, he led me to the barrel rack and withdrew a sample of their barley Single Malt.
Already the immature whiskey had taken on a nice amber color, and the taste mellow enough to evoke curiosity about the finished product. Standing on the testimony of their other spirits, one begins to see evidence of Montgomery's mantra. It's not enough to be small, or local, or different. Ultimately, success is measured on whether it tastes good.
Currently, Montgomery has a number of barrels racked, with 7 barrels of Single Malt whiskey slated for release in early 2016, followed by a rye later in the season. Their goal is to reach 80 cases per month, and hopefully turn Ryan's whiskey dream into a Montgomery Distillery staple.
