With the tagline “Old World Distillation. New World Spirits,” Baltimore Spirits Company (BSC) is arguably the city’s most innovative distillery, crafting spirits you won’t see anywhere else. While the Epoch Rye Whiskey nods to Maryland’s rich rye whiskey history, the company goes well beyond the common whiskeys of the region. The Fumus Pumila, a mezcal-style smoked apple brandy, and Asimina Pumila, a pechuga-style apple brandy, are both unprecedented. They pay tribute to Mexico while using Maryland apples, and are more subtle and delicate than you’d expect. They also produce a line of “new world” amari and fruit brandies, including a solera-aged apple brandy, as well as three kinds of Shot Tower gin.
“The musician, the philosopher, and the anthropologist,” is how they describe owners and founders Max Kennedy Lents and Ian Newton and distiller Eli Breitburg-Smith. This is reflected in the artistic connections in their distillery bar, the Cocktail Gallery, where photography, art, music and movies all play a part in forming community around their spirits.
Like many distillers, Breitburg-Smith started off as a brewer. After working for Great Basin Brewing Company in Reno, Nevada, he came back to his old stomping grounds of Baltimore to brew at Peabody Heights Brewery for four years before co-founding Baltimore Spirits Company in 2015. The distillery moved to its current location in 2018. Over the last nine years, BSC has won awards for its flagship Epoch Rye, including four double gold medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Breitburg-Smith has been part of forming the company’s unique spirits vision and is also president of the Maryland Distillers Guild. Here, in his own words, Breitburg-Smith explains what makes BSC unique, how he and his team promote their brands, and where he thinks the world of craft distilling is going.
Tell us about how you got into distilling.
In 2014, I was brewing beer at a local brewery by day and working on rock operas with the Baltimore Rock Opera Society at night. My friends and co-founders Max Lents and Ian Newton were starting to work on a business plan for a distillery and were looking for help on the technical side. I enjoyed working on recipes and looking at potential locations with them. But even then, I would have told you that there was no way I would make the switch from brewing to distilling. As it turns out, though, by the time the distillery was ready to open, I was looking for a change and they were looking for a distiller, so I made the leap and haven’t looked back.
What makes your spirits different from others being distilled in your state and in the country?
For starters, we are very lucky to be operating in a creative and vibrant distilling community in Maryland and around the country. The thing that has always driven us is our desire to put our unique stamp onto everything we do and to follow our own tastes to create the products we want.
When we developed our flagship Epoch Rye Whiskey in 2014, for example, we appreciated the history that surrounded Maryland rye whiskey, but we didn’t take the approach of trying to recreate a historical whiskey. We did plenty of research on what had been done in the past and then pulled from a variety of influences to end up with a whiskey that we felt had something to add to the conversation and wouldn’t be mistaken for anything else out there.
From Scotland — and early American history — we pulled our wooden fermenters and handmade copper pot stills. From the craft brewing scene, we looked to explore the different characteristics that are available from using beer yeast. When it came to barrel selection, we have always gone with 53-gallon barrels, but we decided to lean towards a lower char profile. We’ve also been able to apply that approach to other parts of the distilling world, like with our mezcal-inspired apple brandy and Baltamaro, an amaro-inspired line that launched in 2017.
How does opening and running a distillery in Baltimore inform your business and style?
Baltimore is creative, exciting, and weird in the best possible way. We came out of the arts and music scene and have always been influenced by what’s going on there and try to reflect that energy in what we do. It’s also a gritty, supportive town that allows a lot of small businesses to open up and thrive if you’re willing to put the work in.
What do you feel are the key elements of getting your brand placed on- and off- premise and promoting your spirits?
We worked hard to develop brands that stand out because they look and taste unique but also always meet or exceed the quality expectations of buyers. Partnering up with restaurants and bars to do tastings, classes, and dinners is always the best way to show your support for retailers and get exposure to new customers.
How do you envision the world of small-batch spirits/craft distilling evolving in the coming years?
This is a great but tough time to be in craft distilling. The industry is at a point where there are new and innovative products coming out all the time, and distilleries like us have had the time they need to build up and mature their whiskey stocks. There probably hasn’t been a better time in the past 100 years to try quality whiskey from small producers across the United States. However, that also means the competition is steep and your best bet is to focus locally and regionally where you can have a more direct connection with retailers.
What are a few of your favorite places to eat and drink in your city?
Baltimore has a booming food scene. We have world-class restaurants and bars like Dutch Courage, a gin bar with excellent food, the Bluebird Cocktail Room, and the Elk Room speakeasy. Of course, I’m still partial to some of our dive bars and corner bars and restaurants like the Ottobar and Koco’s Pub, which both pour local spirits and beers.
