The new distillery, helmed by the DiPrizio family (Jay and Victor DiPrizio, a pair of brothers, and Jay’s wife, Noelle), will start by offering vodka and white whiskey. Their goal is to produce 2,500 cases in the first year, which equals about 25,000 bottles. A few other things to know:
1. There’s a tasting room, store and tours. Tours, which are $10, will be available Saturday and Sunday and will include tastings. They’ll focus on both the distilling process as well as the differences between different types of spirits. Perennial Virant’s Shannon Bandur will be serving cocktails for $9 in the tasting room and she'll use both spirits made on the premises and other brands. And if you like what you taste, take home a bottle of vodka for $28 and a 375ml bottle of whiskey for $22.
2. The names of their products have Chicago ties. Ceres is the Roman goddess of grain and there’s a statue of her atop the Board of Trade building. She lends her name to Ceres’ Vodka, which is made with corn. Shorty’s, the white whiskey, is named for the nickname for Noelle’s grandfather, whose family distilled in Wisconsin and inspired the trio to start making their own products.
3. There’s more on the way. Chicago Distilling Company is currently tweaking a gin, and bourbon and rye are aging in barrels—those should be ready in about 18 months. While the bottles are just available at the distillery for now, the DiPrizio family is talking to distributors to make the spirits available at restaurants, hotels and liquor stores.
Chicago Distilling Company opens tomorrow at 4pm and tours begin on Saturday.