Thursday, August 16, 2018

From an Agricultral Operation to Worldwide Producer....


 Shown below are two old photos I have. Both are, unfortunately, undated but they tell the tale of the Bomberger's Distillery and Michter's. The first photo, I would put probably post-Civil War era. The distillery is basically still an agricultural operation- local surplus grain is converted to whiskey for the local residents. My guess would be at the time of the photo, it would have been named the Bomberger Distillery.
The second photo shows a vastly different scene- several large warehouses, a commercial distillery, and other various outbuildings. By the late 70's Michter's was available across the US, and even over in Japan at times. The distillery was now a popular tourist attraction and the decanters had become well-known. Dark times were right around the corner, unfortunately, as the distillery rapidly lost sales, encountered money issues, and finally closed in 1990.
These two pictures show what was- in two forms, as a small farm distillery, and a distillery that was shipping their whiskey all over the US and elsewhere. And yet it never lost it's quaint and historical feel. And I still don't think it has today!