McClintock named first organic distillery in Maryland

McClintock Distilling has been certified as Maryland’s first organic distillery by the Maryland Department of Agriculture.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture has certified the McClintock distillery as 100% organic

The Frederick-based distillery began producing spirits with organic ingredients in December 2015, and has now been officially certified as organic by the state’s Department of Agriculture.

Every aspect of production was considered for the certification, from the grains used to make whiskey, to the botanicals flavouring the distillery’s Forager gin.

Braeden Bumpers, owner of McClintock Distilling, said: “We are thrilled to be the first distillery in the state to be organic certified. Using 100% organic grains was part of our mission to ensure that we get the best possible ingredients to make the best possible spirits.

“As an added bonus we get to support responsible farms that are using non-GMO grains and reducing the pesticide and nitrogen pollution of our waterways.”

Representatives from McClintock, the United States Department of Agriculture and the Maryland Department of Agriculture worked closely throughout 2017 to ensure compliance, as McClintock is the state’s first distillery to go through the process.

Becoming certified organic was always part of McClintock Distilling’s overall mission, to increase sustainability in alcohol production.

The distillery itself is powered by renewable electricity, includes a new cooling system designed to reduce waste water and provides spent grain to local farmers, who use it as animal feed.

The distillery opened in 2015 in a renovated historic building in Frederick, Maryland and produces organic vodka, gin and whiskey.