Lee Erwin Reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Old Glory Distilling Company revealed their plans at a press conference Friday, February 6, for a new distillery and events center to be built in Clarksville on Alfred Thun Road. Matt Cunningham, Proprietor, shared his dream and plans for the Old Glory Distillery.
The over 20,000 square foot building will feature a gift shop and tasting area, an events center and of course the distillery. The events center will be open for use by the public with a capacity of 350 people and features a full size catering kitchen.
“We really want Clarksville to be a part of this whole deal. Once we get up and going, we’re going to have the community really stay involved in the whole process of distilling. We are primarily going to be a Tennessee Whiskey and bourbon distillery,” said Cunningham.
Talking about the new distillery Cunningham said they will have some products available for the public during the first two years but 80 percent of the products they produce will go straight into a barrel and the product won’t be seen for about four years.
A couple of their early products include Jumper’s Stash White Rum, named in honor of former paratroopers at Fort Campbell. Two other early products are Smooth Shine Tennessee Moonshine and Tennessee Vodka. The first aged product to be available will be White Hat Whiskey.
Theresa Harrington with the Clarksville-Montgomery County Convention and Visitors Bureau spoke about the many economic advantages for the community of having the distillery, while Tennessee State Senator Mark Green talked about small business development and jobs involving the distillery.
Much of the ground work for the new distillery is already complete with construction on the facility scheduled to begin within the next few weeks. Cunningham said they will initially be hiring 15 people and are planning to be open sometime this fall.