I visited Big Spring Spirits in Bellefonte, PA tonight. It was Small Batch’s first gathering and it was a good experience.

Small Batch is a new thing, a member group for young professionals and others looking for distinctive bar experiences outside the typical State College area bar filled with undergraduates.

We arrived at Big Spring at 7:45pm and entered the refurbished distillery that’s located in Bellefonte’s historic Match Factory. The first drink was on Small Batch, and I ordered the “Manhattan Bridge,” a lightly aged rum, neat.

After about 15 minutes the behind the scenes tour of Big Spring got started and we learned about the distillery process. Big Spring is unique in their approach to sourcing and infrastructure. All their ingredients are locally sourced within 25 miles, and their distillery is the first LEED certified distillery in the country.

It was amazing to hear from Kevin Lloyd that one barrel produces about 500 bottles of product. We also learned about the Takamine distilling process, created by the same man who brought the Cherry Blossom’s to the Capitol basin.

Kevin worked in analytical chemistry in State College for pharma before selling his company and going into semi-retirement. Big Spring is his next act. It’s worth a taste.