MONROE - Spirits are taking up residence in downtown Monroe.
Minhas Craft Brewery is creating a separate "micro-company" to bottle and eventually distill some hard liquors, according to Gary Olson, president of the company.
"What we are calling 'Phase One' is bottling distilled spirits - rum, tequila, vodka, whiskey and gin for third parties, essentially cutting out the middle man," Olson said Tuesday. "In Phase Two, we'll be doing some distilling for vodka."
Bottling cordials is also in the Phase One plans.
The city's Historic Preservation Commission Tuesday approved a facelift plan for a building at 1404 13t St. that will house the new bottling line.
Bottling and packaging, with the spirits going into various sized plastic and glass bottles, is set to begin in the next few weeks.
Olson said the first bottling run will be rum, bought in bulk from Barbados, and unloaded. Minhas will flavor the rum if specified by the contracts.
Distilling could begin in as little as three months, he added.
The distilled spirits will be packaged for the Canadian market at first, but Olson expects the products will come to the local U.S. markets later.
The company is now working on U.S. brand trademarks and labels. Olson said one of the U. S. labels in the plans is for an "Alamo" brand of tequila.
How much will Monroe's new micro-distillery produce?
"That's hard to say. It depends on the bottle size, but I'd say it'd range between 20,000 to 40,000 cases a year," he said.
The initial bottling phase is expected to employ two people, but once distilling begins, four more employees may be needed, Olson said.
According to Olson, Minhas began researching the possibilities of starting a distillery about three years ago and made concerted efforts to create the separate company about 18 months ago.
Minhas Craft Brewery is creating a separate "micro-company" to bottle and eventually distill some hard liquors, according to Gary Olson, president of the company.
"What we are calling 'Phase One' is bottling distilled spirits - rum, tequila, vodka, whiskey and gin for third parties, essentially cutting out the middle man," Olson said Tuesday. "In Phase Two, we'll be doing some distilling for vodka."
Bottling cordials is also in the Phase One plans.
The city's Historic Preservation Commission Tuesday approved a facelift plan for a building at 1404 13t St. that will house the new bottling line.
Bottling and packaging, with the spirits going into various sized plastic and glass bottles, is set to begin in the next few weeks.
Olson said the first bottling run will be rum, bought in bulk from Barbados, and unloaded. Minhas will flavor the rum if specified by the contracts.
Distilling could begin in as little as three months, he added.
The distilled spirits will be packaged for the Canadian market at first, but Olson expects the products will come to the local U.S. markets later.
The company is now working on U.S. brand trademarks and labels. Olson said one of the U. S. labels in the plans is for an "Alamo" brand of tequila.
How much will Monroe's new micro-distillery produce?
"That's hard to say. It depends on the bottle size, but I'd say it'd range between 20,000 to 40,000 cases a year," he said.
The initial bottling phase is expected to employ two people, but once distilling begins, four more employees may be needed, Olson said.
According to Olson, Minhas began researching the possibilities of starting a distillery about three years ago and made concerted efforts to create the separate company about 18 months ago.