Seguin Gazette: Couple hopes to convert old fire house to distillery

Joe Martin The Seguin Gazette 

Johnny Pickles Distillery, a new whiskey manufacturing company, is looking to make its way to Seguin.

At the helm of the project are entrepreneurs and Austin residents Jen and Nate Forman. 

“We’ve been putting together the concept of this business for a couple of years now,” Nate said. “We are really excited. We have been saving up and planning and doing other things professionally while we chased our whiskey enthusiasm. Our vision, our excitement and our dream is to bring craft spirits, infused liqueur and cocktail bitters to the community.” 

The couple has their eyes fixed on the 40-year-old firehouse at 1711 N. Austin St. to house the distillery. However, to fulfill their vision, they plan to expand the property’s reach, Jen said.  

“We came to an agreement with the city on our contract for the property,” she said. “We are still trying to acquire more land to make this project happen because it’s a matter of negotiating with a lot of different people. But If we can get this all to go through, then we’re going to be very excited to begin our construction hopefully this spring.” 

Johnny Pickles Distillery is the couple’s first foray into the world of whiskey production, and they plan to share the load of responsibilities, Nate said. 

“Jen is going to be the general manager, and her background is in construction management and project management in metal art,” he said. “I will be head distiller, and my background is in tech. So we have a ton to learn, but it’s been great so far. I feel like we work well together as a team because we balance each other out and reach for our own strengths.”

Once production begins, Nate will put his unique twist on the spirits he creates, Jen said. 

“My husband loves to experiment, and so part of our shtick is that it’s experimental not only in the grains but the yeast that we use and the aging process we’re using and different types of wood,” Jen said. “It’s an art really, which is a lot of fun.” 

Whisky isn’t the only concoction the duo hopes to provide, Jen said. 

“We will begin with whiskey, but to fulfill the needs of the cocktails we want to mix, we will be creating a few different bitters as well as some infused cocktails,” she said. “We will also probably produce a basic type of moonshine, but this is all for mixing purposes in the cocktail bar so that we can really have fun with it and create a lot of different types of cocktails.”

Contrary to the company name, pickles are not the focal taste of the spirits they hope to create, Jen said. 

“The pickled vegetable will not be part of our spirit itself,” she said. “But because of the interest and the story behind us, we’ll probably have some type of pickle infused cocktail.” 

The Formans’ journey into distilling spirits began with Nate’s interest in creating fermented teas more than a decade ago, Jen said. 

“My husband started making kombucha at home,” she said. “Then he started making some bitters from purchased alcohol. He then started infusing alcohol to try to make liqueur; for instance, he made a pecan- banana-flavored liqueur, which was pretty interesting. So he’s experimented over the years, and we started having bitter parties at home and people started saying, ‘You could sell this, this is really good.’” 

To further educate themselves on all things whiskey and running a distillery, Jen has made it her “full-time job” researching the ins and outs of the industry the past year and a half.

The Formans also took a series of trips touring distilleries around the globe to experience the history of the liquor, Jen said. 

“Through the years, it started heading in the direction of creating some type of spirit,” she said. “And we did a few trips where we went to Ireland, Scotland and France and went to lots of distilleries. So it’s not something to take lightly because it is an art, and it is a science, and it does take a lot of dedication and time, but we’re willing to do it because we just feel really strongly about it. We’re very passionate about being creative and being a part of a community.” 

Although the plans are still in the early stages, the goal of the distillery is to provide a place where community members can gather and have fun, Jen said. 

“We’re looking at a very urban location, but trying for a little bit more of a rural feel,” she said. “We want it to be so that we actually have a production company that will be producing the whiskey there but also having a tasting room on site where people can relax and have the ability to order a cocktail and spend time outside where you can bring your dog and bring your kids.”

The pair looks forward to spending more time in the area as they progress their business, Jen said. 

“This is our first time in commercial real estate as well, so it’s tricky business as we’re finding out,” she said. “Hopefully it works out at this point. I really like the city, and we think it’s a really nice place for us. We’ve been told that other people would be happy to see us here, and, hopefully, the community embraces having something that’s new and different.”

The Formans’ announcement followed a unified development code change approved by city council to include distillery as a land use back in September. 

If they are successful, Johnny Pickles Distillery will be the fourth alcohol manufacturing company to open its doors in the area, following Blue Lotus Winery in 2012, BS Brewing in 2012 and The Seguin Brewing Company in 2015.

Joe Martin is a staff writer for the Seguin Gazette. You can e-mail him at joe.martin@seguingazette.com .