This past Friday, January 8th, the crew of One Eight Distilling (1135 Okie Street NE) prepared for a very special celebration. Located on a quiet corner in Ivy City, the distillery—one of only three within the District—had just turned one year old. Inside the rambling warehouse, the mood was lively and anticipatory.
“It’s been tremendously exciting and rewarding,” said One Eight’s CEO and co-founder Alexander “Sandy” Wood when asked about the experiences of the past year. “We now have five employees and we’re hiring our sixth, so we’re growing. The amount of interest and response from the community has been really wonderful.”
One Eight Distilling’s primary spirits are its “District Made Vodka,” “Rock Creek White Whiskey,” and “Ivy City Gin.” Eleven months after opening its doors, One Eight took home two awards from the New York International Spirits Competition: a silver medal for its Ivy City Gin and and an award for Washington D.C. Distillery of the Year.
One Eight’s assortment of clear spirits are now complimented by its new “Untitled” line of barrel-aged whiskeys. While Laufer and Wood don’t produce this whiskey themselves (it’s sourced from MGP in Indiana, whose straight-rye whiskey sells under brand names such as Bulleit and Templeton), the Untitled line experiments with different barrel finishes and examines how aging can impact flavor.
There are now six different small batches of Untitled, and Untitled #6 itself features a blend of nine-year-old sourced whiskey aged in three different barrels for three different spans of time: one for three months in a Cognac barrel, one for ten months in a Muscat wine barrel, and one for nine months in an Oloroso sherry barrel.
Distribution itself has also expanded and been buoyed by the city’s so-called “Grey Laws,” which allow self-distribution of alcoholic products within the District. The co-founders estimate that they now have around 150 accounts, and Laufer attributes their growth, in part, to the fact that he and Wood have been personally delivering their spirits to account holders.
“It’s allowed us to develop great relationships with the shop owners or restaurants or bars, because we’re the ones personally taking the orders or delivering,” said Laufer. “We’re really happy to work with them and can respond really quickly to their orders.”
The distillery is also particularly interested in making connections within Ivy City. The Northeast neighborhood has received increased media attention over the past few months due to a massive building and marketing effort helmed by Douglas Development that specifically targets millennials. While One Eight Distilling stands to benefit from an influx of younger customers, fitting in with the existing residents is important to them.
It’s a task made all the more important by the rapid changes the neighborhood is experiencing. “Folks that have been in the area for a long time are interested in retaining that character, and then the Nike superstore opens on New York Avenue,” said Laufer.
Wood thinks that the real trick is maintaining some kind of balance with the new development. “There are a lot of lots here with nothing built on them, and there probably should be things built on them because we’re so close to downtown and urban density makes a lot of sense,” he said. “But balancing that with all of the existing residents of Ivy City and all of the businesses that need warehouse space.”
One Eight Distilling has hosted events for Habitat for Humanity, who has built a number of homes within Ivy City; they also donate a dollar from every bottle of Ivy City Gin sold to the organization.
Fans of the distillery can expect more experimentation and collaboration over the coming year. Laufer and Wood both mentioned that in the past their spent barrels have been exchanged with other producers in the area (some of their barrels ended up aging a small batch of DC Brau Penn Quarter Porter* for example), and their barrel-aging experiments are set to continue. They’re also eying an increased radius of distribution. Their liquors, now only available in D.C. and Maryland, may soon make an appearance in Virginia.
Ultimately though, Wood and Laufer just want to continue to distill and build relationships within their community. “It’s hugely gratifying to build a company from the ground up,” said Wood. “It’s something I’d never done before and we’re in love with it.” Sitting next to him in their tasting room, moments away from celebrating their first successful year of business, Laufer smiled and nodded.
*Corrected
