Crawford Distillery to open next week

Neil and Alyssa Crawford's five-year-old dream turns into a reality next week, with Crawford Distillery holding its grand opening Wednesday.

The hours of the distillery, at 115 Fourth Ave., will be Wednesday to Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m."

Neil Crawford said some of the reasons that he wanted to open a distillery was because "it's something different and it's all for the love of the spirits.

Crawford Distillery will be a family-friendly environment, with snacks and drinks for kids as well as a large chalkboard and coloring books available. Alyssa Crawford said.

"I want to find out about the people who come in here, I want to know what they like to drink," she added.

Neil Crawford said he has taken classes in Kentucky at Moonshine University, where the university offers classes including the basics of distilling. One of the courses he took was a weekend bourbon course.

Crawford said the distillery will just be run by him and his wife with one employee working at the bar. In the future they will serve vodka, whiskey and bourbon in addition to the rum and the moonshine that will be available at the opening.

He added that they will be aging their whiskeys and bourbons in barrels bearing the Crawford name.

The distillery will have a menu of mixed drinks. At the grand opening Wednesday it will offer rum mixed drinks as well as moonshine mixed drinks such as a Montana Mojito; Hi-Line Lemonade; Beaver Creek Basil; Sweetgrass Sweet Tea; Apple Pie Moscow Mule, which will be a moonshine mix drink, and The Mutton Buster.

The Crawfords said they eventually hope to offer Bloody Marys and mimosas during the mornings on weekends such as for people attending the Saturday Market.

Alyssa Crawford said her personal favorite is the Beaver Creek Basil, which is a fresh strawberries and basil mixed drink.

The names of the mixed drinks offered at the distillery will be tied to the local area as well as each bottle having a short story about Havre on the label. For example; the rum will have a little story called The Great Northern Route, which is a story about the railroad and the history of it coming to Havre. The goal is making and keeping the distiller community-based, she said.

The Crawfords have lived in Havre for the past three years, moving from San Diego, California, and, they said, instantly falling in love with the town.

"With four girls, we wanted to move to a place that is a small town, and Havre peaked that interest for us," Alyssa Crawford said. "We love the fact that our kids can ride their bikes and they're safe.

"We fell in love with the people here, I mean we were welcomed the minute we got here ... it's just been amazing," she added.

Neil Crawford added that he is also an avid hunter and fisherman and Havre is a good place for both.

Alyssa Crawford also opened a do-it-yourself workshop center, The Yellow Tin Cup, near Crawford Distillery.

The Crawfords said they want to work with historical organizations in the community in providing information about history such as bootleggers and moonshiners in the area.

"We (also) want people to learn about the process," Alyssa said. "Truly, I have found, it is more of a science and an art more than anything."

She added that once the still is cooking Neil often spends six to eight hours watching and monitoring it. He has to watch the temperature, adjust the water valves and make sure the batch stays consistent and that the proof doesn't drop, she said, a lot of hard work goes into it.

"It's not just throwing in some ingredients and hoping for the best," Alyssa said. "There is a true passion for it."

Alyssa said a 50 gallon still, after proofing, only makes about four gallons of product, and that it takes about six days to prepare a batch.

They had started distilling about five weeks ago as soon as all their licenses were approved, building inventory for the grand opening.

They said they wanted to thank their friends in town who helped them set up and build Crawford Distillery, in addition to Triple Dog Brewing Co., which helped greatly with advice and direct help in getting it running, she said.

The Crawfords said that in the future they would like to have a food truck at the distillery as well as outdoor seating available for the summer time.

"We invite the community in keeping it truly community-based," Alyssa Crawford added.