Train Wreck Distillery is located in Mount Holly, a short distance from Spellbound Brewing (which I posted about last week). It is Burlington County’s first distillery (established in 2015). I love the repurposing of old train stations. When I was in college, a friend and I mused about opening up a coffeehouse in an old abandoned train station nearby. We even thought of a theme song (Homeward Bound-“I’m sitting in a railway station…”). I must say, the folks at Train Wreck Distillery did a first class job of turning their space into a very attractive distillery with old artifacts and a beautiful stain glass window on their entrance. In order to have sufficient space, they added a bar in the back that is huge, with the ability to open up on a nice warm day or close off with heavy plastic enclosures for bad weather.
Train Wreck offers a little bit of everything in terms of spirits: vodka, gin, rum (silver and gold), whiskey, and bourbon. They also have a few interesting variations: Their Rail Cart Reserve is a gin that is finished in rum and whiskey barrels and they have bourbon barrel aged maple syrup. The syrup sounds like a great way to top your pancakes, when you have nowhere to go after breakfast.
Spirit Tasting
- Rail Cart Gin-Interesting and very good version, with a more subdued taste of juniper berries than most gins.
- Gold Rum-A good version, though I would be more interested in trying a couple of their rum-based cocktails.
- Super Chief Straight Bourbon Whiskey-Very tasty and smooth; a very nice sipping bourbon.
- Blue Comet American Single Malt Whiskey-Perhaps my favorite in the tasting, though the bourbon gave it a run for the money.
All four of these spirits were surprisingly smooth. Next time I would like to taste their Crazy Train Vodka, Rail Cart Reserve Gin, and Silver Rum. Since my wife and I had just done a tasting at Spellbound Brewing a little earlier, we decided to hold off on having a cocktail until we revisit in the spring or summer and enjoy the outdoor space with a couple of hand crafted cocktails. We did get to taste a shot of a cocktail with a gin base and a creamy, lemony flavor, that was not even on the menu. A special thanks to the bartender who told us it was “on the house.” This is a very cool space with some great spirits and cocktails. It’s well worth the visit.
Train Wreck Distillery is open Thursday (5-9); Friday (5-11); Saturday (3-11); and Sunday (1-6). You can check out their website here: trainwreckdistillery.com
New Jersey Wine of the Week
This week I chose to highlight one of the best Chambourcins in the state: White Horse Winery 2019 Chambourcin. One could easily make the case that Chambourcin is New Jersey’s signature red grape. It grows very well in the state and there are easily two dozen or more wineries in the state that produce Chambourcin (many of them are award winners). White Horse Winery’s 2018 vintage was declared, “the best local red in the Philly suburbs,” by Philadelphia Magazine. The 2019 vintage is easily every bit as good. You get the same classic dark red color, medium body, cherry notes, and smooth finish.
Coming Attractions
- Sharrott Winery Winter 2023
- Striped Lion Distillery
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