By Babs Perkins

Seven years ago Chris Weld bought a farm that would become home to the first legal distillery in Massachusetts since prohibition, Berkshire Mountain Distillers (BMD). Last fall he upped stakes and moved his award-winning operation out from the shadow of East Mountain in Sheffield and set up shop in a brand-new, custom-built building on Route 7, just south of town.

From the outside the non-descript, green sheet-metal structure looks like it should contain a machine shop or a farm-equipment dealer. But don’t be fooled, the building is now home to nearly all facets of the distillery’s operation from initial fermentation to bottling and boxing. Only the aging happens off-site at a “top secret” but “nearby” location. The new facilities will allow for a near doubling of production and with the added land BMD has plans to keep a distillery garden which will help provide some of the botanicals used in the production of their gins.

Upon entering, you walk into a large, tidy tasting room/retail store and are immediately hit with a heady, warm olfactory blast. Hints of alcohol mix with the comforting and familiar smells of wood from the barrels stacked against one wall, and… and something else. Another more spicy, sugary essence. That would be the blackstrap molasses used in the production of Ragged Mountain Rum currently being made in the back. And thanks to the new building and increased capacity this batch is perhaps the largest to come off the line so far.

Visible through a giant window are the giant fermenting tanks and modified still used in the production of spirits including rum, bourbon, corn whiskey, vodka and Ethereal Gin and Greylock Gin, which, according to the New York Times is the #1 craft gin in the country.

The Tasting Room is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12–5pm with tours of the distillery (by reservation/appointment) for $10 per person. Tours last approximately an hour and “cover the production of spirits from grain to glass. They are a full sensory experience and involve the handling of raw materials, nosing spirits from various stages of the distillation process as well as tasting the finished products.”

Handled by Michael Sharry, the public face of Berkshire Mountain Distillers, the tours are fun, educational and an interesting behind-the-scenes look at an age-old process. Even if you don’t have time for a tour Michael is happy to answer questions about the products and process and has a wealth of information he is happy to share.

The tasting room is located at 356 South Main Street, Sheffield, MA and nformation on products and tours is available at Berkshiremountaindistillers.com or by calling 413.229.0219.

Photo by Babs Perkins.