Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - An area distillery will be closing its doors at the end of the month. Tommyrotter says it will end whiskey production and hold a special sale this weekend. Gin operations will continue.
Bobby Finan with Tommyrotter says the distillery is closing down the actual manufacturing facility. "We got a lot of extra square footage in anticipation of a growing bourbon line and beyond our gin business, and it just didn't take off at the same kind of rate that our gin did," says Finan. He says the gin line was launched earlier in the line of craft spirits. "We're going to focus on what we're good at, which is making gin and and you really need a much smaller footprint for that," adds Finan.
Finan says whiskey lovers can take advantage of a special sale Saturday. "We have partial pallets of leftover product that won't go out to distributors," says Finan. He says he's offering 30% off bottle sales and 50% off six pack cases. The sale takes place in the distillery's tasting room on Seneca.
Finan does not believe distilleries compete with local breweries. "While somewhat substitutional I think there are different audiences based on the type of consumer that pursues craft spirits, they might be more interested in cocktails and mixology," explains Finan. He says craft beverage production has shifted from a manufacturing and distribution business over to much more of a hospitality and entertainment layered on top of distribution. "So it's no secret that you've got lots of breweries and distilleries that have restaurants, bars, kind of entertainment spaces, maybe wedding venues attached to them. That pool of competition is squarely in competition with any provider of hospitality, restaurants, bars, clubs," adds Finan.
The tasting room will close with the distillery, but gin products will continue.