Pine Tavern Distillery: Family Owned and Crafted in Salem County

August 15, 2016 newjerseyisntboring

Salem County is getting it’s own distillery! Located on Pine Tavern Road in Monroeville, Pine Tavern Distillery will open to the public on August 20th, 2016.

I ventured to Monroeville to visit co-owners William F Cox 2nd (aka Bill) and Deborah Schmid, a mother and son team who are opening up their own distillery on their family’s farm land. As avid craft spirit drinkers, they felt there were not very many local options in the area. They decided that they could make whiskey from their own corn and bring a little piece of Jersey to the industry.

I immediately felt in love with the place just by driving in. If you’re unfamiliar with Salem County, it’s a beautiful area filled with farm land. In the midst of all those farms is Pine Tavern Distillery. You drive down a dirt path onto a grass road, which leads you to a beautiful barn.

Originally intended for horses, the barn which holds Pine Tavern Distillery is where they made their rum and whiskey and where they’ll have their tastings. They will also have an outdoor bar so there is plenty of space.

I was lucky enough to try their products while I was there. They are currently producing two whiskeys and a rum, but have plans to expand that in the future. Currently they have a “Muddy Run Jersey Style White” Whiskey, “Muddy Run Jersey Style Honey White” Whiskey, and “Muddy Run jersey Style Rum”. All three liquors are available for purchase at the distillery. *Editors Note: They did not have labels at the time of my visit.

I tried the “Muddy Run Jersey Style White” and the “Muddy Run jersey Style Rum” straight, and they were both very smooth. With their original white whiskey you can actually smell and taste the corn.

Deborah Schmid makes an amazing homemade sweet tea, so I had that mixed with their “Muddy Run jersey Style Honey White”. There was no honey in the tea, so all the honey I tasted was from their whiskey. Very sweet and refreshing! The perfect Summer cocktail.

On a visit to the distillery you can look forward to relaxing on an authentic farm experience surrounded by corn fields, and hanging out with Schmid/Cox family who does everything from the distilling, to the bottling, the farming, the bartending, and the sales! The whole family was so sweet and welcoming and are very excited about finally opening their distillery that they worked on together from the beginning.