Walter Palmer III of Palmer Distilling gets the word out about his Liberty gin best by simple advertising.
“My wife and I are self-funding this business,” he said, “so a lot of what we do is through social media, word of mouth, or advertising free drinks on a small cardboard sign”
The method is simple but it works well. Curious customers walk in the door seeking information on the free gin offer posted outside on a chalkboard.
Once his guests are inside, Palmer and his wife go to work explaining how the new distillery, just opened in May, differs from the microbreweries popular in town.
“Liberty Gin is a celebration of a gin from the time period of the American Revolution,” he said. “I wanted to created a product that would have been available at that time”
Palmer explains that his Gin is a “snapshot of history in a bottle,” as he uses the same process Dutch merchants used and sold at Philadelphia ports during this historical time.
The creation of their Dutch distilled gin, originally known as Jenever, came from a process of using a copper pot still, six basic botanicals, and Pennsylvania spring water.
Its a process that Palmer still follows today to create an elegantly simple drink that our founding fathers would have enjoyed.
“My first question is always, ‘do you like gin,'” he stated. “Most of the time, they say, ‘no.’ or pretend they do. Or sometimes they really do enjoy it. But all the time, they say my gin has a great taste to it, and they often compare it to having a whiskey flavor.”
Whiskey is Palmer’s next step. He has been distilling as a hobby for more than two years, and has received great support from friends.
As the business continues to grow, Palmer and his wife plan to stay in Philadelphia to support the city. He plans to expand his space into a large tasting area and he looks forward to having his spirits sold on store shelves soon.
– Text, video and images by Colleen Campbell.
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