Deadwood Distilling Co.

Deadwood Distilling Co. opened in the summer of 2017 after Michael Ballard and Todd Phillips bought three buildings on Main Street in Deadwood. The Black Hills town has about 1,300 people. Ballard also owns the Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis and the S'loonshine Distillery in his hometown of Trimble, Tennessee. The Deadwood operation works from the same recipes. Steve Fredericksen, the manager at the opening, described the aim as an artisan distillery where everything is made on the premises, from fermentation to the shelf. The process is on view. The building holds the distillery and tasting room together with a general store and a pizzeria, plus the Bloody Nose Saloon. The moonshine is a grain neutral spirit at 70 proof, sold in mason jars. Flavours ran from peach to a coffee version at the opening, and the range has since grown to thirteen. Handcrafted whiskeys run from 70 to 120 proof. The vodka is made farm to bottle from Ballard Family Farm grain, including pickle and jalapeño versions, and cream liqueurs round out the list. Samples are poured without reservation, and staff walk visitors through each flavour. The general store carries Amish jams and jellies along with pickles, bourbon maple syrup and the distillery's own shirts. The interior was finished with fresh-cut local pine. A 2017 profile in 605 Magazine noted the fit between a moonshiner and a town built on gamblers and gunslingers.