We’ve been waiting for quite a while for Boston’s Short Path Distillery to open and now that it finally is, we can’t wait to visit. Founded by three friends who are passionate about spirits, the distillery uses locally-sourced ingredients and handcrafts in very small batches. The style combines “old-world distilling techniques with a new-world, chemistry-based approach to spirit development," which is where their name actually comes from. “’Short path distillation’ is a technical name used in the scientific community for the type of distilling done in a pot still.”
With a very transparent distilling process (the site gives a step-by-step explanation, for those curious in a little Distilling 101 lesson), Short Path offers a light, crisp, London dry-style gin and a rum that is bold and rich. The founders extract and blend flavor compounds from organic juniper, coriander, eucalyptus, lavender and lemongrass for their gin, using science in a way Walter White would be proud of. The rum uses high quality blackstrap molasses, a copper pot still and a long fermentation period to get a complex white rum.
Though Short Path spirits are available in several Boston stores, the best way to get a taste for yourself is to visit the distillery. The tasting room is open Friday 5-9 p.m., Saturday 12-9 p.m. and Sunday 12-5 p.m., and all you have to do is ask someone at the bar for a sample. You can also ask for a tour if you want a closer look at the distillery.
