A buzz has come over Golden, and the mystery distillery that is Mount 7 Spirits Craft Distillery has been announced.
Across from the Whitetooth Brewery, the old Home Hardware building is getting a facelift, and will be the future home of Golden’s own craft distillery. Greg and Kristie Ehman have been working to learn all they can about their spirited passion, and have begun construction on the future location.
The building, located on 8th Avenue North, will be converted into a distillery, a commercial unit, and a residential unit, which should include a tasting room and storefront for Mount 7 Spirits Craft Distillery.
The Ehman’s are trying to preserve as much history from the building as possible by salvaging wood and other historic pieces from the structure.
“We’re really trying to save some of the history,” Greg said. “The building renovations are going to take a fair amount of time. It’s really important that we preserve some aspects of it and the character that we really like.”
Work in the building includes converting the space to meet their needs, and running new water and sewer lines, and installing all new power.
“It’s going to be quite a process to get that up and running,” Greg said.
They are hopeful the renovations will be done by spring, and as they get everything in place for the distillery, they want to make sure they can get the commercial and residential tenant units in place first.
Opening a distillery has been in the works for Kristie and Greg for many years. About two years ago, they went to Vancouver and took a distiller course, and learned all they could about that side of the business. As previous bar owners, the Ehman’s have a good knowledge already for liquor sales.
They looked around at different locations for the distillery, and had previously looked at the building they now own, but continued the search for the perfect spot. They really like the idea of being next to the brewery, in an up and coming area in Golden.
“It’s a happening spot to be in Golden. We thought, if we could put the distillery and the commercial space across from [the brewery], it would be a really good fit,” Greg said.
While they tackle all of the requirements to put in a distillery, the Ehman’s said that the Town of Golden has been helping them navigate the process and ensuring everything meets town standards.
They hope that Mount 7 Spirits Craft Distillery will be open in a year, but say it could take longer to get everything operational.
Kristie will be in charge of running the business and making the spirits, which they are not revealing at this time.
“We want to keep that a secret for a little while longer,” Greg said. “We’ve got some great ideas, and we’re really excited, but we’re not sharing what those are yet.”
Greg and Kristie only gave one hint, mentioning that it takes seven years to make a proper rye, but they hope to be serving spirits sooner than that.
The Ehman’s think the location of the distillery will fit in perfectly with the Whitetooth Brewery, and the new housing that is being built on the corner, and future developments that may happen in that area.
Not a far walk from Spirit Square, people will be able to enjoy a different kind of spirit at the new distillery.
Greg and Kristie also have two smaller commercial lots for sale next to the future home of the brewery.
