Manchester Moonshine (and Other Local Spirits)

Clad in pristine white lab coats, surrounded by beakers and sample jars, and operating out of a centuries-old building, Adam von Gootkin and Peter Kowalczyk look more like a couple of mad scientists than budding young entrepreneurs preparing to open their own distillery.

But that’s exactly what the duo is: fledgling distillers about to become producers of handcrafted Connecticut spirits right here in Manchester.

The founders of the Onyx Spirits Company, a start-up distillery based out of the historic Hilliard Mills complex, von Gootkin and Kowalczyk are brewing up their first batch of homegrown spirits with an eye toward rolling out three products in April: Charles Taylor Vodka, Littlebird Limoncello and Onyx Moonshine.

“We’ve always sort of been connoisseurs of good-quality liquor,” von Gootkin, 27, said. “We started talking about it (one day) and realized that there’s nobody really making this stuff in Connecticut right now, nobody around here really producing good quality liquor, so we realized there’s a void to fill.”

It wasn’t quite that easy, though. The pair had their initial idea for the distillery more than two years ago while working at one of the other local businesses they own and operate in town, the Onyx Soundlab recording studio on Cooper Street. They spent the better part of the next two years planning their strategy, searching for the right location, and perfecting their recipes. In addition to the recording studio, von Gootkin and Kowalczyk also operate a smart phone app design company and a real estate business, both based out of Manchester.

“We’re serial entrepreneurs,” von Gootkin, a Rocky Hill native, said.

The pair’s latest business endeavor could be their most successful yet. The original plan was to roll out three batches of 600 bottles apiece for Onyx’s initial offering, but von Gootkin said that reception from area restaurants and liquor stores has been so positive that they will probably easily surpass that target number. He said they would likely get started on their next batch of liquors almost immediately after completing the first.

“The original goal was 5,000 bottles in our first year, but from the interest we’ve been getting from restaurants and liquor stores I think we are going to go well beyond that,” von Gootkin said. “People are just dying to have this stuff.”

Onyx’s liquors will initially be available at select restaurants and liquor stores in the greater Hartford area, although von Gootkin declined to specify which businesses have agreed to carry the fledgling company’s product. The 750-milliliter bottles will retail for around $25, von Gootkin said, which he believes is a great value for the quality and taste of the product.

“The taste is amazing,” von Gootkin said. “And the best part is it’s fresh, it’s pure, it’s local. Why would you want to buy a product that comes all the way from Europe, is filled with processed materials and preservatives, and was probably sitting on a ship and in a warehouse for months?”

Kowalczyk, 30, a Massachusetts native, who remained quiet for the majority of the interview – he joked that he was the brains of the operation – added that Onyx Spirits would be particularly appealing to Connecticut residents because the liquors were “lovingly made here.”

When asked why they chose to roll the product line out with their versions of vodka, limoncello and moonshine, von Gootkin said that none of those liquors require a long distilling process. He and Kowalczyk also felt that each spirit fit the company’s philosophy: fresh, quality local ingredients combined with painstakingly crafted and distinctive recipes, which they hope will set Onyx’s liquors apart from any others on the shelf.

“We had recipes two years ago, we were ready to go last year, but we needed the flavors to be amazing,” said von Gootkin. “Which is why we’re only getting started now.”

Kowalczyk said that crafting the recipes involved a lot of sampling and “hard work,” although the pair soon learned to spit after the initial tasting, like sampling a fine wine, otherwise they might not have been as productive.

Once Onyx’s liquors are available in stores and restaurants, the company will join the Connecticut Department of Agriculture’s unique “Farm to Chef” program, which joins local chefs and food service professionals to Connecticut growers and farmers. Water for the liquors will come from Triple Springs, a Meriden-based spring water producer, while the organic lemons used for the limoncello come from FreshPoint, the Hartford produce supplier.

“We are delighted to have Onyx Spirits Company join Farm-to-Chef and think our members will be excited about their new product line,” said Linda Piotrowicz, who heads up the Farm-to-Chef Program for the Connecticut Department of Agriculture. "Farm-to-Cheffers are extremely passionate about what they produce, whether they're growing crops, raising livestock, or creating culinary masterpieces, while also being dedicated to using local ingredients and supporting local companies. Because Onyx shares those same qualities, I think will be a terrific complement to the program.”

Even the company’s location, inside the historic Hilliard Mills, the nation’s oldest woolen mill, fits it, according to von Gootkin.

“That’s part of the process,” von Gootkin said. “Taking an old historic place and repurposing it to fit our needs.”

Right now, von Gootkin and Kowalczyk are the distillery's sole employees, with the occasional friend and family member chipping in to help out, but von Gootkin said that if things go well, Onyx expects to start hiring employees in about six months time. If things really go well, von Gootkin said, they have an agreement with the owners of the mills to move the company’s operations to the oldest structure on the site, which is currently being restored.

“We really feel that people, ourselves included, were getting a little bit bored with the same old vodka, tequila and rum,” said von Gootkin.

If that’s true, come April, Connecticut residents will have a few more options to choose from on the shelves of their local restaurant or liquor store.