Around the Town with Keri Garcia: Three Rivers Distilling Co.
Recently, I had the chance to sit down with one of the owners of the Three Rivers Distilling Company, Aaron Pence.
Check out our two part interview (one minute each):
Part I: The Biz
Keri Garcia (KG): "Hi Aaron! Thanks for chatting with me today. Can you tell me a little more about Three Rivers Distilling?"
Aaron Pence (AP): "We are the first legal distillery since prohibition in Fort Wayne. We're one of the fastest growing distilleries that the state has ever seen, and we're doing all this right here in our home town.
Our bourbon was named the best booze in the state of Indiana, our vodka and gin are both nationally award winning spirits. Our 122 that we named in honor of the 122nd Fighter Wing where my partners and I all met and served — it actually won an award as well for 122 proof whiskey.
Then we have some amazing new ones, we teamed up with Utopian Coffee here locally, and came up with a coffee liquor.
KG: "How we can come and enjoy your product?"
AP: "We can't wait to have the public come in here. One way is going to be our new tasting room. It's a 7,000 square foot expansion where we have outdoor dining, an outdoor bar area, a gaming area, and then an indoor bar and restaurant area.
Another way is through our executive lounge where we're at today. It's a little more secluded, it's a great rental event space, and you can see the stills where the spirits are all made."
Part II: The Booze
KG: "Can you tell me a little more about the spirits?"
AP: "You know, all of our spirits are made with organic non-GMO corn, wheat, barley, and rye — all from a farm right here in Indiana.
We age all of our spirits in barrels that are produced right here in Fort Wayne, so we try and keep everything local.
We've been honored to be awarded a few awards, and our newest one is our rye whiskey that we named after our Vietnam vet that works here at the distillery."
KG: "Fantastic, I'm excited to taste these spirits! Thank you so much for taking the time to tell us about your facility, we're very excited for the opening."
AP: "My pleasure, can't wait to have you come in and sample the spirits."
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