A Whiskey Revival: Bullock Distillery and the Pride of West Virginia

bullock distillery vodka grape barrels

“That’s why they call it ‘Wet Virginia,’” explains Scott Ferris, one of the distillers at The Bullock Distillery in Charleston, West Virginia. He is bobbing his head up and down, showing me how he had to get around inside of a water-filled cave in Greenbrier County. Only a couple inches at the top of the cave had air he could breathe, otherwise, he was underwater. “Take a breath. Then look ahead. Take a breath. Then look ahead.”

Ferris had explored part of the cave system from which Bullock Distillery sources its karst water from the Appalachian mountains. Much of eastern West Virginia is made up of limestone and dolomite. These stones erode over time and form vast networks of caverns into which rain water settles and from which spring water flows. The quality of the rocks infuses the water with minerals that can feed distiller’s yeast and make for a smoother spirit. 

Every spirit Bullock Distillery makes uses this Appalachian water. They take pride in everything West Virginian, including the neighborhood where they distill. 

White Dog Moonshine

Coal Country 

In some ways, West Virginia’s geology informs everything that Bullock Distillery is doing. All of their spirits have natural spring water, and much of their motivation ties back into coal. Tighe Bullock, co-founder of the distillery, explains, “I’m from a coal town in southwestern West Virginia. It’s a ghost town now, but it used to be a bustling microcosm of what a typical West Virginia coal town looked like. As I got older the businesses moved away and the town died down. The experience sort of consciously or subconsciously had a profound effect on me.”

Bullock’s experience seeing the economic hardships that followed the retreat of the coal industry followed him to Charleston. In the state capital, too, coal and manufacturing jobs slowly evaporated, leaving the city with high unemployment, declining population, and increasingly untenable social problems. 

The capital was once a center of the mining industry, but has felt the decline as well. West Side in Charleston, a neighborhood separated from downtown by the Elk River and a broad highway overpass, became one of the most economically depressed areas in the state. In 2015, 40% of the children in the area lived below the poverty line. The neighborhood is historically home to black West Virginians and became synonymous with unemployment, poverty, and urban depression. 

distillation in West Virginia

While Charleston is not the bustling city it once was, things may be on the mend. Community groups are pushing to address underlying issues and small businesses are slowly opening. Bullock Distillery is among them. 

Bullock came to the city and began working in construction in West Side. His focus has been in rehabilitating historic buildings. Today, he has restored over 20 buildings, commercial and residential,  in the neighborhood. He promotes a return to the neighborhood’s roots with the new label “Elk City,” a name from back when the neighborhood was a city independent from Charleston. 

The experience of coming from a struggling coal town himself, Bullock says, “has gotten me interested in physically saving these places with my hands. It comes from a desire to preserve history, start businesses, and save some facet of our lifestyle here that is dwindling pretty quickly.” His work has created over 80 jobs through at least 15 new LLCs, either directly or indirectly.

Today, the neighborhood has a local charm. It is a place worth going to if you visit the capital city. A community of local business people have come together to offer food, drink, books, music, and more a short walk from Charleston’s downtown.

Bullock adds, “We like jobs that are focused on things that Amazon can’t replace–barbershops, design agencies, an eclectic mix of businesses.” The vision for Elk City is long-term, sustainable, and locally West Virginian.

The business environment is rooted in pride from what Bullock calls, “proud, independent mountain people.” He adds, “We are the capital city here. There are only 50 capital cities in the country. We have an opportunity to showcase what we have to offer the world.”

fermentation vats for whiskey

Still Heritage

Bullock Distillery is just one of the businesses that has opened in Elk City in recent years. The distillery is focused on whiskey, but approaches the craft with West Virginia in mind. 

When they opened, they purchased the oldest legal still in the state, a thick stainless steel pot still made in the 1990s that they use to make all of their bourbon and whiskey. In addition to equipment, all of the grains that go into their spirits grow in Mason County, West Virginia. The water in the spirits, of course, bubbles up from the caves of Greenbrier County. 

While the distillery is primarily focused on whiskey, it also offers grape-based vodka, barrel-rested gin, and moonshine. The moonshine, an unaged corn spirit, speaks to the heritage of distillation in West Virginia. Bullock’s grandparents made moonshine and most folks in the state have encountered a mason jar of the white lighting before. 

“There is definitely a stigma with moonshine. But I think we can embrace that stigma and own it, roll with it, take that negative light away from it,” Bullock says. He can imagine a day when West Virginia has a “Moonshine Trail,” bringing tourists to craft distilleries around the state. 

In a way, the mission of the distillery is the same as that of the Elk City restoration. Both projects take a West Virginian history that has been a bit rough on the edges and push it into a space that locals can be proud of. 

whiskey pot still west virginia
Bullock Distillery acquired this still from another distiller in northern West Virginia. It is the oldest, legal still in the state.

Bullock wants to restore pride to distillation in West Virginia, but the legal space surrounding craft distillation in West Virginia is not business friendly. “We are taking chunks out of the laws that we have on the books here, but it’s too slow. It has hamstrung the industry–not even hamstrung it–it has made it impossible to get into distilling without having some serious patience, capital, and political clout.” Bullock wants others in the state to come forward, speak up, and push for change. 

Folks who make real moonshine, the kind that the tax man doesn’t know about, still exist. “I would encourage anyone to follow the right path, but also join the conversation,” Bullock advises, “Why aren’t you getting into the legitimate world of distillation? Come forward, especially if you have good recipes.” The distillery is the first step in developing the state’s craft spirit potential. 

pouring moonshine

Tasting West Virginia 

Bullock tells me, “We believe there is a terroir here. People want to try what people have in the area. People think there is a flavor here that they are missing out on.” Bullock Distillery’s spirits are made in Elk City, in a West Virginia built still, from West Virginia grown grain, with West Virginia karst water. If terroir does exist here, it is boiling away in Bullock’s pot still. 

Bullock Distillery’s vodka is made from 100% grape juice. They run it through their column still and proof it down with karst water. The spirit has a sweet odor, but doesn’t immediately smell like vodka. It is like a moonshine grappa that would bring a fruity element to any traditional martini. 

The moonshine, on the other hand, is the real deal. Bullock relies on corn from Mason County to bring a sweet, funky, mountain burn to their “White Dog.” It has a smooth corn flavor, and finishes with a hot moonshine burn. 

Their moonshine is unaged and great for sipping around the campfire. But Bullock also adds, “We make our stuff clear, you can always add flavors to it afterwards. Have some fun with it, cut up some peaches, let it sit for 3 months. We let the public do their own thing with it.” 

Finally, the distillery’s straight rye whiskey, bottled from a single barrel, offers a taste of the refinement that West Virginian distillation has to offer. This spirit is distilled in the state’s oldest legal pot still. On the nose, it is like caramelized honeydew melon. It is smooth, sweet with lighter fruit notes, and lightly woody. The grain comes through with nice spiciness. 

Whiskey, vodka, moonshine, and more–Bullock Distillery endeavors to take pride in West Virginia by offering a taste of the land. Bullock understands that his grandparents distilled because it was a good way to preserve agricultural surplus. Now, it’s a way to showcase cultural heritage. 

As Charleston looks towards the future, slowly rebuilding historical neighborhoods, fostering small businesses, and building healthy communities, Bullock Distillery is uniquely positioned to represent West Virginia to a broader audience. Not only are they reviving Elk City, but they are also taking the harsher edge off of Appalachian liquor. 

Bullock Distillery Charleston West Virginia

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