Jacksonville's distillery scene getting busier

[thelakelander]

The Jacksonville distillery scene is getting busier with two more gearing up to enter the market. They are Four Fathers Distillery on Borden Street off New Kings Road in Northwest Jacksonville and Frequency Spirits on Philips Industrial Drive off Philips Highway.
Meanwhile, work is continuing on the already announced Manifest Distilling downtown.

The business models are the same for all three: Produce several styles of liquor that would be sold through distributors and also sold to visitors to the distillery. State law now allows each customer to buy two bottles of each style of liquor from a distillery each year.

Dan Jones, part owner of Four Fathers, said he's hoping to start distilling in six weeks or so, but he still needs a few approvals.

"Everything takes longer than what I thought," he said. "We have to get the labels OK'd. I need to get the fire marshal out here."

His partners bought the 8,000-square-foot industrial building last year for $80,000. The 500-liter copper still, made in Portugal, is in place but he's still waiting on a few more pieces of equipment.

The plan is to make vodka, rum and whiskey, all from grain. Some distilleries use grain-neutral spirits that have already been distilled.

Down on the Southside, Oliver and Jonna Epstein are hoping to open Frequency Spirits in about eight weeks. At least that's when Oliver Epstein hopes to start distilling. He's not sure when and if he can offer tastings.

"The city is giving us a horrible time," he said.

Full article: http://jacksonville.com/business/2016-03-11/story/jacksonvilles-distillery-scene-getting-busier

[edjax]

I guess all I took from the story was that the city is being a pain in the ass to the industry regarding opening tasting rooms.