Bones Distillery finds right fit in Washington
No “bones” about it: Glenn Green has found the ideal location in downtown Washington for his small, craft moonshine distillery.
His new Bones Distillery is expected to be open for business next week at 68 W. Maiden St., former site of Liberty Pole Spirits, which moved to North Strabane Township last year.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, with an anticipated Friday opening.
“We just couldn’t find a location,” said Green, of Eighty Four. “Once we found a location we couldn’t get the funding for that location. We started broadening our horizons. I actually helped the Liberty Pole get out of their lease early so I could get in here. It was a win-win for everybody. This location is kind of a saving grace. The building is being used again. The area has something else in it that’s a money-making thing for the city.
“We built an entire distillery inside this place,” Green said. “It’s a small craft moonshine distillery with vodka products, sippin’ creams and real fruit brandies.”
Green was quick to point out that Bones Distillery is a retail shop and not a bar.
“Yes, I have a nice tasting area where they come up to the bar and taste the products,” Green said. “I do have my permits to serve cocktails, but we do not have any plans to serve cocktails, at least for a while. We’re a distillery that sells retail stuff.”
For Green, the distillery is the latest of several career paths.
His education background is in biochemistry, and helped start Hero BX, a biotechnology company in his hometown of Erie. He also spent time in the U.S. Army.
The distillery is a collaboration of sorts with a friend who he said makes “top-notch” moonshine. “Based on his recipes and what I can do, we kind of put things together,” Green said. “I’m building something based around his recipes.”
Green said the distillery hours of operation have yet to be determined.
“We’re working that out,” he said. “It’s not going to be seven days a week, and it’s not going to be all day, every day. I have to kind of get the feel of the land.”