Ionclad Distillery has started producing small-batch bourbon whiskey in a new venture downtown that has picked up attention at the state level.
“This is a classic example of agriculture, entrepreneurialism, manufacturing, tourism and community revitalization coming together,” Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore said Wednesday at the distillery.
The startup craft distillery at 124 23rd St. has already spent about $100,000 and expects investment could reach around $250,000 as it expands production with eight employees over the next three years, said Ironclad President Stephen King. King owns the property, where he runs a Paul Davis Restoration franchise, and partnered with son Owen in the venture with help from other family members.
Additionally, Ironclad is buying its corn, wheat and rye from David Hula and his family at Renwood Farms in Charles City, King said. As such, Haymore revealed that the microdistillery would receive a $12,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund.
Ironclad started producing about a month ago, King said. Haymore and Newport News Mayor McKinley Price signed the first 15-gallon barrel — enough for the first 220 bottles (375 milliliters each) during an on-site ceremony.
“Ironclad Distillery is poised for a bright future and will be a welcome destination and a catalyst for the renaissance of downtown Newport News,” Price said.
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Ironclad plans to produce two barrels a week starting with one shift a day, King said. The liquor needs to age in charred white oak barrels for a year. King would like bourbon on ABC store shelves by this time next year.
Additionally, Ironclad plans to sell its Virginia bourbon on-site, where visitors can sample it in a tasting room. Tours could start in about six months, King said.
Haymore said Ironclad is helping to put Virginia on the map as a craft alcohol producer, joining about 25 other craft distilleries, 100 craft breweries and 260 wineries and cideries across the state.
Supplying craft distilleries has become a niche for Renwood Farms, but that demand is still relatively low compared to the feed industry and export market, Hula said.
“I see it adding value to some growers,” Hula said about the growing craft distillery movement. “It’s good to have a brand that’s right at their back door.”
Name sound familiar?
Ironclad gets its name from the Battle of the Ironclads between the USS Monitor and the Confederate ship CSS Virginia (also known as the Merrimac), which occurred nearby during the Civil War.
For more information, visit ironcladdistillery.com. Full article with video can be found here.
