When driving down U.S. 395 through Minden, it’s hard to miss the old flour mill and creamery building. The building is especially more noticeable now that it’s being restored into a state of the art distillery.
The owner, Christopher Bently, has a passion for old buildings in his hometown of Minden. He also has a love for single malt whiskeys. When he was given an opportunity to put the two together, he ran with it.
“What do you do with grain silos, well we hollowed them out in the center and we're building a distillery right in the middle of it," says Bently.
The restoration is a four year project in the making and construction crews continue with ongoing efforts daily. Friday marked a big step in the process, as a large crane lowered two copper stills into the distillery. Each one was hand crafted in Scotland.
"They're beautiful; they're works of art both in the form and in the function, so today was kind of a big monument for us, a marker of progress for the project."
Bently heritage is an Estate Distillery, meaning everything put into the liquor is locally grown on the Bently property. Even the water comes from well number 1 which is the original well in the town of Minden.
This locally grown and locally operated mentality has Minden residents chomping at the bit for the distillery's grand opening. John Nelson is a Minden resident who expects the distillery to put the town on the map.
"It's going to draw people in, people are going to want to see it, visit it," says Nelson. "It's going to be a big deal, it's like what Jack Daniels did for their little town."
Bently hopes to start whiskey production by Christmas, and plans to open to the public by summer of 2018.
