Distillery

Bluecoat Gin Distillation Process

Our Team

AARON

How long have you been a distiller & what drew you to this career?
I’ve been distilling for almost 9 years. I started here at Philadelphia Distilling and learned how to distill on our 1500L still. I love flavor, organic chemistry, working with my hands, and making real products and this checks all of those boxes.

Favorite spot in Philly (aside from the distillery)?
This is a really difficult question, I’m a big Philadelphia fanboy. Favorite restaurant might be Seorabol in Olney. Favorite museum is probably the Mutter Museum. Favorite park is Fairmount, especially near the Please Touch Museum and Shofuso. Favorite view is from the top of the Bok Building. Favorite place to get a cocktail is anywhere that has Bluecoat!

What’s your favorite botanical to distill?
Coriander seed is a great one. When you distill it, you can really appreciate how much citrus and wood character it provides. It also has a grainy aroma too it as well. Sometimes it smells like Froot Loops.

Distilling woes—what is one challenge you face as a distiller?
Sometimes as distillers, our preferences are for something new, extreme, or unique. But we have to remember that most people haven’t tried 30 different gins and aren’t really interested in super weird or extreme combinations of flavors. Keeping our pallets grounded can be difficult.

Pete

How long have you been a distiller & what drew you to this career?
I've been a distiller for just over 6 years. I'd been working at Philadelphia Distilling  in various capacities since 2008 and an opportunity arose on the production side as a distiller when we moved to our current location so I jumped at the chance.

Favorite spot in Philly (aside from the distillery)?
The public art installation from Nam June Paik in Callowhill.

What’s your favorite botanical to distill?
Black mission fig because it adds a creamy jam like flavor profile to the spirit you're distilling

Distilling woes—what is one challenge you face as a distiller?
I'd say the supply chain issues post-covid and being able to source the best organic botanicals we can.

dANI

How long have you been a distiller & what drew you to this career?
I have been a distiller for nearly 4 years. Becoming a distiller was kind of a happy accident. I was a bartender in the tasting room of a distillery, and eventually started interning to see if distilling was something I would enjoy. I instantly fell in love and learned everything I possibly could. I love this field so much because I am able to be active throughout the day while also being mentally engaged. It's extremely rewarding to be able to produce something tangible and share it with others!

Favorite spot in Philly (aside from the distillery)?
There are so many amazing spots all over Philly—we're spoiled. For a night out with friends, I love going to the Gayborhood. If I'm in the mood for a calmer vibe with amazing cocktails, Franklin Mortgage is my absolute go-to. 

What’s your favorite botanical to distill?
I do many single-botanical distillations for R&D purposes. One of my favorites is Myrtle Leaf. It's sweet and herbaceous—it definitely shouldn't be overlooked.

Distilling woes—what is one challenge you face as a distiller?
Every line of work has its obstacles. I think something every distiller can relate to is that equipment is destined to malfunction or break at one point or another. As a distiller you basically have to be a plumber, carpenter, electrician, etc. Troubleshooting outside of your realm of expertise can be challenging and intimidating, but it is so rewarding when you successfully fix something. This also creates great teachable moments that you wouldn't have otherwise.  

theo

How long have you been a distiller & what drew you to this career?
Not long! Summer of ‘22 I came here to learn. I love making herbal macerations at home, both for medicine and pleasure, so I approached PD with a hunch that something related might make a good career fit. I feel grateful I took the leap, because that hunch was totally right. The rigor here around flavor and aroma opens up so much for me creatively. I love that this job promises experimentation, work with plants, and variety day-to-day. Plus, there’s alchemy! The craft of distilling comes from a lineage of mortal magic, which is super intriguing.

Favorite spot in Philly (aside from the distillery)?
I’ve always been enamored with Philly’s rivers. In my former arts career I was often exploring cultural connections to the Delaware and developed some attachment. It feels like “my” river in the right-in-my-backyard sense. My go-to picnic spot is by the smoke trees at Penn Treaty.

What’s your favorite botanical to distill?
I’m not sure a single favorite is possible! Today I’m especially excited to be working with spicebush (lindera). It’s this awesome shrub that I’d seen around but didn’t know intimately until last fall. It’s lavender-like in some applications, and the distillate moves from being lemony to somewhat tropical to floral. Gorgeous and surprising.

Distilling woes—what is one challenge you face as a distiller?
This is surely true of any field, but noviceness is challenging — you have to get comfortable with failure, or try. There’s so many different facets of what we do that the learning curve is impressive. But it’s an amazing feeling to notice yourself doing something by memory that you could barely comprehend at one point. I think the biggest hurdle we face collectively is balancing the stuff we want to do for the sake of learning and creating, and the stuff we do to keep up with demand.

JACK

How long have you been a distiller & what drew you to this career?
Philadelphia Distilling is my first distilling job. I've been with the company for 6 years now, initially as a bartender but quickly found myself distilling small batches of spirits for the bar. Prior to working at the distillery, I had been bartending various places and wanted more control and ability to tweak my cocktails, so I would make various bitters, tinctures and other assorted aromatic whatnots to create more unique and customized drinks. When I was hired at the distillery, I was asked to develop bitters for a Bluecoat barrel-finished old fashioned, and that set the ball rolling on developing several more bitters varieties, assorted aperitifs, liquors and vermouths. The draw has always been to create exciting and new combinations of flavors, but also including familiar nostalgic flavors.

Favorite spot in Philly (aside from the distillery)?
My favorite spot in Philly would have to be Oyster House. Between their vast gin collection and ever-changing raw bar, there's always something new and exciting to taste. Plus, watching the shuckers zipping through oysters by the dozen is always entertaining.

What’s your favorite botanical to distill?
Orris root is my favorite botanical to work with. It's bright and floral while simultaneously bitter and earthy, gentle and delicate but stands up to other flavors. It seems to find its way into almost all of my recipes.

Distilling woes—what is one challenge you face as a distiller?
I think my biggest hurdle would be antiquated liquor laws. I'd love to be creating more spirits that cross over between classifications. Vermouth would be a perfect example. Vermouth is made by adding brandy and botanicals to wine. The trouble is, you need one license to make both the wine and the vermouth, but a different license to make the brandy. Fortunately, the Philly beverage scene is full of folks interested in collaborating.