Urban Safari: Boston Harbor Distillery
Boston has a whiskey distillery? Why wouldn't it?
We always think of Boston as a beer town (Sam Adams, Harpoon, and a slew of smaller breweries) so we were pleasantly surprised to discover that Boston also has distilleries making fine, small-batch spirits.
One such local maker of fine spirits is Boston Harbor Distillery (BHD). The BHD was founded by Rhonda Kallman in 2012, but we didn’t find out about it until a year ago, and once we did, we knew we needed to go for a tasting and tour the facility. However, as things happen sometimes, it was almost a full year before we found the time to check it out.
Talk about re-use: a new(ish) distillery nestled inside an old harbor building originally used for manufacturing nails during the Civil War!
The BHD is open to the public Saturdays 3-8 pm. Located at 12 R Ericsson Street in Boston (the Neponset section of Dorchester, across the parking lot from the Venezia Restaurant), getting there was easy and there was plenty of free parking, a definite plus in Boston.
Oh, what deliciousness awaits behind those double doors!
The Whiskeys
We booked the 3PM tasting and was treated to an awesome experience. Our guide was very knowledgeable about BHD’s history and whiskies. Totally loves his job.
AND he was happy to have such interested and interesting tasters!
We sampled four whiskeys, two gins, and a rum, all produced at the distillery. Each had their own unique flavor and personality. Good thing we had a hearty lunch before the tasting!
Small pours, big wallops 😉
Of all the whiskeys, the Putnam Single Malt was our favorite. It had notes of coffee and chocolate, and was absolutely delicious. Yes, we took home a few bottles…not saying how many.
All really good – hard to choose, but eventually we did.
The Bar
Cocktails AFTER the whiskey tasting…wait, what? We also checked out the distillery’s Cocktail Bar after the tasting. The bar offers a variety of hand-crafted delicious cocktails made using the spirits from BHD. As one can see, deciding on what to get was NOT an easy decision 🙂
Blonde: “How about the…” Redhead: “Hmm, maybe the…” Guy with scarf: “I’m feeling it.”
The drinks were very tasty, but as to what they were…we’d stopped taking notes by then.
Having cocktails that make us look like the grownups other people think we are.
The Unexpected
While we brought home a few bottles of the Putnum Single Malt, we also purchased a bottle of what BHD’s Demon Seed.
Demon Seed is a flavored rye whiskey made with Scorpion Peppers, fresh ginger, and maple syrup. We say no more, other than, “Wow.”
No scorpions were harmed in the creating of this creation.
Final Thought
This experience is a hidden gem and should absolutely be on the list of things to do in Boston.
Note that there are two different tastings at BHD: a Boston Sampler Tasting offering “…a barrel side tasting featuring a variety of Boston Harbor Distillery samples” (which is what we took), and a different VIP Whiskey Tour that “…gives you a front row seat to the back room of whiskey making” which offers in tour of the distillery and more tastings.
We hope to return Boston Harbor Distillery at some point and take the full tour to learn more about the process and the facility!
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