Whiskey revival in home of Whiskey Rebellion
Ellen and Jim Hough of Cecil discuss using a hoist once employed in the former monument company building to move barrels of distilled whiskey they hope to be making at the site on West Maiden Street in Washington.
Ellen and Jim Hough of Cecil outside their future whiskey distillery in a building that once housed Creative Visions on West Maiden Street in Washington.
A whiskey revival may soon accompany the Whiskey Rebellion in Washington.
Jim and Ellen Hough plan to open a distillery at 68 W. Maiden St., a few hundred yards from the Main Street festival that commemorates the historic uprising every July. If all goes well, this will be the first legal distillery in Washington County since Prohibition (1920-1933).
The couple is targeting a late 2015 or early 2016 launch.
“We are going to be a grain-to-glass distiller,” said Jim Hough, of Cecil Township. “We wanted to do this in the county where we have lived, and the city of Washington is a perfect location with the Bradford House and Whiskey Rebellion events.”
There is a lot of work ahead, though, and physical renovation is only part of the equation.
“We have many, many hoops and legal hurdles to clear,” he said. “We’ve been going through this for the last year, year and a half, and we’re still six months out.”
The imminent obstacles include a planning commission hearing on the application. It will begin at 7 p.m. tonight in City Hall’s council chambers, 55 W. Maiden St.
The Houghs signed a lease for Mingo Creek Craft Distillers, a tribute to those who rebelled 221 years ago. About 400 people, mostly farmers from Washington County, protested the taxation of their whiskey, prompting President George Washington to send 13,000 militia troops to the area.
Those long-ago rebels referred to themselves as the Mingo Creek Society.
Hough (pronounced huff) is enamored with the building that will house the distillery and its heavy-duty equipment. “It was originally built for a monument manufacturer,” he said. “There are six-inch concrete floors and 20-foot ceilings. And there is great frontage on the National Road. There is a lot of historical significance to the site.”
Creative Visions was the previous tenant there. Julian’s is next door.
The Houghs are longtime, but not lifelong, county residents, Jim grew up in Munhall, Ellen on a farm north of Columbus, Ohio. He works in investments, she in the oil and gas industry. They have two adult sons, both of whom are mechanical engineers.
Neither parent operated a distillery, but Jim said the two have taken numerous workshops, studied the process and have a similar background. They also are members of the American Distilling Institute.
“I’ve been a longtime home brewer. The process of making spirits starts with the same fundamental processes of making beers. There is a great synergy between home brewing and distilling,” he said.
“We will focus exclusively on whiskey. We will make bourbon, corn whiskey, rye whiskey.”
Hough said they have a contract with a dairy farmer in Smithton, Westmoreland County, who is growing a heritage variety of corn they will use for their products.
The couple applied to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for a limited distillery license, which restricts operators from producing more than 100,000 gallons of distilled liquor a year.
If approved, the Houghs would be allowed to give public tours and have a tasting room, where an individual will be allowed 1.5 ounces of tastings per day.
They also are awaiting zoning and building permits and their precious equipment. “We ordered equipment in December and don’t expect it to be delivered until October at the earliest,” he said.
In the meantime, Ellen and Jim Hough are patiently – and eagerly – anticipating the birth of their downtown business.
“We’re excited about this location,” he said.