NJ Distiller

Thanks for the insights. I was thinking of using International Molasses and just reached out to them about their three different types of molasses for rum.

I also bought the book on Amazon and read it in a couple hours. Definitely one of the best things I have found when it comes to the entire process of distilling rum but it is also very useful for distilling in general.

Thanks again for the helpful information!

There's a decent number of people from New Jersey around here. I am in the  beginning stages of planning a distillery.

Alex

Currently looking for suppliers of molasses for our rum, we're located in New Jersey. We do not want to use blackstrap molasses since we want to use a higher grade molasses. Our plan is to make white rum, then use some of the rum to age in barrels. Using the barrel aged rum, we will bottle it from the barrel and them take some to make a spiced rum. 

Any help with ingredients  other than molasses or any insights in general are greatly appreciated. We're still a few months out from production, still the planning phase. 

6 hours ago, Falling Rock said:

Nothing there is tragic...bottle, label, closure gets better with volume.

Thanks for the response!

2 minutes ago, Southernhighlander said:

What I actually have is 42 acres with my residence and 3 businesses already on the property.  I was going to add the distillery as a 4th business.  My house is at least 400 yards from the distillery and the structures for the other business's are between my house and the distillery.  To get a different address for the distillery I simply contact the post office and request a separate HCR Box address.  Here, out in the county, your mailing address is also your physical address.  Also, my place is considered a farm.

I would think that if the TTB had an issue with having your distillery on the same tract of land as your home, there would be no such thing as a farm distillery.

Indy Spirits, that's a great idea and I already thought of that, but there's no need to hire a real estate attorney.   All I need to do is come up with the correct property description and go to the title office with my current deed, get the title search done and have two separate deeds with 2 separate property descriptions made and registered at the court house. .          It would cost around $500.00 to get all of the title work done but I don't want to do that unless I have too, and that doesn't have anything to do with the money.   I chose to move here 22 years ago, because things like that are very easy  here especially at the county level.  There are no building codes where I live, so there are no building inspections, nor are there any kind of building permits needed, nor are there any electrical inspections or plumbing inspections and we do just fine without all of that, nobodies complaining that's for sure.

It seems as though you have a perfect setup then for opening a distillery on the land. Definitely a lot easier than what I have been dealing with up here in NJ. Best of luck!

42 minutes ago, dhdunbar said:

I will say something that is obvious in everything said above.  I assist with federal regulations, but I always tell clients take care of local issues first.  TTB does not just assume that you are zoned properly; whether or not you are zoned properly is not a matter of official concern to them.   They do not care if there is a childcare center in an adjoining unit, with no proper fire barriers.  The official attitude is "Let the kids perish."  They don't care if you want to locate within 500 feet of a church and that doing so might upset the parishioners, who according to blue laws such as that, must be more tempted to demon rum than those who attend church more than 500 feet away.  The official position is "So be it; let those sinners descend into depravity."   Unless the laws of the state completely forbid anyone from engaging in the business you propose, i.e., the laws make it illegal to operate a distilled spirits plant, for example, in that state under any circumstances,  TTB has no legal basis for denying federal registration and permits on the grounds that your project would somehow offend local or state ordinances,  That TTB is officially callous is a good thing.  Would we really want a situation in which federal approval depended on a promise not to speed when making deliveries?

Official callousness is obviously, and properly, not true of the local fire marshall and others who enforce local codes.  No doubt, officious objections can cause real problems for you when there is no real problem with what you propose, but DSP's can also create real problems with which state and local codes must deal.  Generally, my advice is, "Do not worry about TTB.  We can work around most potential objections."  There is a brewery located in the same warehouse space? Okay, we'll put up a chain link fence and make sure a door to the proposed DSP opens into a public area, etc.  From the list someone posted above (and it is a good list, lifted straight from the regulations, which in turn lift it straight from the stature), the stumbling block can be a residence on the same tract of land.  However, that is not hopeless.  If you live in an area that will allow you to have a DSP on the residential property, and want to put a DSP in an outbuilding, do not ignore TTB in the early planning states.  Otherwise, think local first.

Thanks for the information. Speaking with the state, they are on a very similiar level as the TTB in that basically don't put the DSP in your house or a residential premise. Other than that it is up to the local municipality. We have reached out to the zoning board but have yet to get any word back.

On 6/7/2017 at 9:05 PM, Curt said:

Thanks Tim. We are in Northeast Ohio. Appreciate all your suggestions. Stumpy's tun is a little too big but hopefully someone else will post something. I like your mash tun/ still idea... I'll keep looking

Check out https://distillery-equipment.com Paul has been awesome with helping us through the entire planning phase. He's on the forum here as @Southernhighlander.

6 hours ago, Silk City Distillers said:

Stop by I'm around this afternoon.

Im about an hour and a half south of you, exit 80 on the parkway. PM me your availability next week if you don't mind. I'm a high school teacher and school ends Monday.

6 hours ago, Falling Rock said:

Well, what are your numbers?

For a 750ml:

bottle,label,closure=$2.00

Federal and State Tax=$3.50

Rum Ingredients=$2.15

Vodka Ingredients=$1.25

GNS/Vodka Blend=$0.85

We didn't factor in labor yet. My sister and I have full time careers with a ton of free time. We did factor costs of utilities into the ingredient costs. 

I am in the process of writing my business plan. I have read through this forum for a couple months, the home distiller forum and the Australian distiller forum.

Ive calculated the cost per bottle down to the electric and water needed for the runs. If anyone could send me a PM and spare a couple minutes to let me know if my numbers are anywhere in the ballpark.

Thanks!

48 minutes ago, Curt said:

Hi Tim,

we currently have a 75 gallon capacity. any ideas

 

We are thinking of a 105 gallon mash combination still for our setup. As far as fermenters we are going to use 275 polyethylene IBC totes and also use the totes for transferring out our condenser water once it gets hot.

The couple locations that we are thinking of all are on city water but why waste water if you can use it? With keeping the warm water, we can then clean our equipment, as well as other uses. Also for storing alcohol and transporting from barrels, fermenters and other areas we most likely will use 55 gallon polyethylene drums on dolleys. 

We too are starting on a small budget. 

14 hours ago, Sator Square Distillery said:

The TTB will assume that you've complied with all state and local laws and permits.

It's really up to the local municipality as to how easy or hard it will be to locate your DSP there. They generally will want you zoned industrial since it's technically manufacturing, but variances are often given out. Don't forget that zoning variances usually take input from locals at an open hearing, so it pays to go around and be friendly ahead of time.

So it totally depends on how cooperative the locals are and that varies to both ends of the extremes. Even if there's nothing legally a local municipality can do to deny you, they can always have the fire marshal put the thumbscrews to you and make it very expensive on you so you go away. Hopefully you have it easy in that regard.

Best of luck

Thank you! We have reached out to some local municipalities where we are interested in of locations. The density of our area is populated densely, within a 20 mile radius we have over 15 municipalities. 

15 hours ago, Glenlyon said:

Choose your location very very carefully - because this could happen to you...

First we established a great location. Then before anything else! We canvassed the surrounding neighbors and they had two questions for us...

"What are you going to make?" And,

"When can we buy it?"

OK - that sounds great. Next we approach the district with our idea. The conversation goes like this...

Ask: "We'd like to set up a distillery."

Response: "It'll never happen, piss off and leave us alone." Literately.

Hmmm.

After a bit of a depression, we quickly rallied and wrote a 3 page essay outlining ourselves and our idea as we envisioned it. It took about 3 weeks to get it right. We debated every word extensively. This document has since become the cornerstone of our venture. We painstakingly filled out the rezoning application form. We headed back to the district. We slapped down our essay, the completed application and the $3,000 rezoning fee.

"Great!" they said "snatching up the money. "We love the idea! However, you have to proceed through this rezoning process which is going to take at least six months. Good luck."

So, the months pass by. (We are now pushing 8 months.) We get a few requests for more information here and there from the district - the odd inspector wanders around - then, eventually, they release their long awaited report.

Its favorable! They really do love the idea! Yea! But wait. What's this? A public information meeting is the next step? OK. No worries.

Dutifully we put up a rezoning sign on the property in question and advertise the public meeting in the local newspaper.

Suddenly - EVERYONE - is adamantly opposed! Did they think we weren't going to do this? What? Were we blowing smoke up their asses when we were explaining the idea? WTF?

Everybody we went to in the beginning changed their attitudes - inexplicably. Letters fly into the district - people are really pissed off. Now we're evil bootleggers promoting loud rock music and causing no end of destruction mayhem to the land and society in our otherwise peaceful neighborhood! Kill the bastards! Drinking and driving is all our fault. The myths surrounding the project grow by the day and the ladies are all talking it up at the school bus stop every morning. Its fcuking crazy! 

The funny thing is - is that every single one of the people who wrote letters opposing the project never even bothered to look up the project information - advertised and easily available on the district's website. So, their letters brought up all kinds of simmering complaints - many having nothing to do with the actual distillery. 99% was misguided perception due to lack of knowledge.

Yet, remember, we had actually gone to these people and discussed the idea at length before we started the process!  Sheesh.

The actual live public meeting happens next Thursday (June 8, 2017) and it going to be a VERY LIVELY event!!

We have confidence we'll survive because we have been able to muster an unexpectedly powerful tool - the ability to write really well and to be able to do really thorough research. You have to out think your opponents and great written rebuttals are saving our asses. For the impending meeting we have put together a visual presentation that we have put weeks and weeks of work into and it rocks.

Hopefully, we can change the conversation back in our favor. We'll see.

Although - sadly, mediocrity does tend to prevail - so, perhaps we'll be voted down in the end after all.

Its hard to fly like an eagle when you're surrounded by turkeys.

Cheers,

Glen

While reading this post I was getting fired up for you! I hope it does not come to this but there is always a chance for anything. I will be looking forward to hearing about your public meeting. Put it on Facebook live for us to watch at ADI hah. I appreciate all the detail and best of luck!

1 minute ago, HedgeBird said:

No, your DSP does not have to be in an industrial zoned building.  Zoning really only comes into play with your local government.  The TTB almost certainly does not, and your state probably does not, take into account zoning when issuing permits.  My own distillery is in a residential zoned area of the city, but I was able to receive a variance from my local municipality. 

Thanks for the response. We reached out to the state department and they said it just cannot be in a residual premise but the zoning is totally up to the local municipality. We reached out to every municipality around us but the couple we have prospective locations in have not gotten back to us. Thanks for your response.

I have been on this forum for a couple months but this is my first post. My sister and I are in the preliminary stages of our business plan. We are reaching out to local municipalities about the prospect of a distillery in their towns.

When looking for a physical location, does it have to be an industrial zoned building according to the TTB or is that more of a local/state guideline? 

On the TTB guidelines we could only find:

Quote

§19.52   Restrictions on location of plants.

A person who intends to establish a distilled spirits plant may not locate it in any of the following places:

(a) In any residence, shed, yard, or enclosure connected to a residence;

(b) On any vessel or boat;

(c) Where beer or wine is produced;

(d) Where liquors are sold at retail; or

(e) Where any other business is conducted except as provided in §19.54.

We have found some properties that are listed as retail locations but have huge open warehouse spaces which we could utilize for the DSP and a front room for a tasting room.

Any insights would help. Thank you!

Alex