Delaware Distilling Company opens in Midway

The concept was in the works before the space was even his.

Zack King, owner of the new Delaware Distilling Company, said Old Bay, the restaurant that formerly occupied the DDC's location in Midway Shopping Center, was always going to become DDC.

It was just a matter of time.

After nearly a year of paperwork and legal wrangling to open the Delaware Distilling Company as a bar and restaurant as well as a liquor manufacturer, King pulled it all together and changed the marquee just in time for the start of summer.

Recently hosting a "soft" opening to unveil the new rum, gin and vodka infusions -- from the predictable spiced rum to more exotic concoctions like pineapple basil, strawberry agave lemonade or beet vodkas -- King said distilling was part of a natural progression that started years ago when he began brewing beer at home.

"Since the day we took over as Old Bay a year ago, the plan was to become a distillery," he said. "We've been playing around and testing out infusions for a while now."

The lineup King has now – potato vodka, gin distilled eight times before bottling and white whiskey – will continue to grow and evolve, he said.

Already working with a full list of specialty cocktails that rely on the new spirits, in the coming weeks King plans to unveil a sweet potato vodka he has been working on. In autumn he'll offer oak-aged whiskey and eventually, flavored brandies and moonshine will available by the bottle at the restaurant or in specialty drinks.

Already, reaction has been positive.

"It was smooth," said Bret Shockley, a patron who stopped in from Milford for the soft opening. "The shots, they were phenomenal."

Spirits from Delaware Distilling Company are already available at Port, King's other restaurant in Dewey Beach, but bottles may only be purchased at the flagship store in the Midway Shopping Center.

In addition to some specialty items he will soon have available for sale, King mentioned he also has kits for sale facilitate easy distilling for the at-home novice. Each kit comes with an oak barrel for aging and within a month, patrons can distill their own whiskey.

"The cool thing is, the small barrels age so fast you could have a good whiskey in a month or two and re-use the barrel," he said.

For the latest information on Delaware Distilling Company and its new spirits available, go to www.delawaredistillingcompany.com or call 302-645-8273.