GrandTen Aiming to Build an On-Site Cocktail Bar

Photo via GrandTen Distilling/Facebook

Last fall, GrandTen Distilling dipped their toes into craft beer territory with their collaborative 383 whiskey made from an un-hopped batch of Trillium Brewing’s signature farmhouse ale. Now cofounder Matt Nuernberger is pushing that genre-bending approach even further as he and his team campaign to open a craft cocktail bar within their South Boston distillery.

“There are other out-of-state distilleries doing this, but having a fully functional cocktail bar inside a distillery would be a first for Boston,” says Nuernberger. “I can say that wasn’t the only inspiration behind this, though. We really looked at the beer model and brewpubs, which have existed for over 30 years.”

To transform their current tasting area into a relaxing, operational wet bar, the distillery has launched a 40-day, $20,000 Indiegogo campaign to help fund parts, equipment, and labor. The money will go towards installing modern bar equipment and the requisite hook-ups, while preserving the integrity of the 150-year-old historical space.

“The whole front tasting room has to be rebuilt,” says Nuernberger. “We’re going to move the actual bar around, we have a significant amount of plumbing we need to do, and we obviously need to outfit it with dishwashers and sinks.”

If the distillery reaches or surpasses their Indiegogo goal, GrandTen’s newly dubbed Bar 383 will showcase their current line of spirits, while providing a staging ground for new, experimental products such as an apple brandy, more small-batch whiskies, and pre-bottled cocktails. But Nuernberger says “it’s an all-or-nothing campaign,” that won’t materialize without outside funding.

To incentivize the public, GrandTen is offering a number of perks including rocks glasses, t-shirts designed by local artist Eben Haines, screen-printed posters from Union Press in Somerville, and perhaps most enticing, gift certificates and tokens that can be redeemed at the distillery or at the new bar when it’s finished.

383 Dorchester Ave., Boston; 617-269-0497 or grandten.com.