The first craft distillery in Allegany County is gearing up for a spirited coming out party.
BelCliff Distilling LLC will welcome the public during a two-day grand opening March 28-29 at 41 Main St. in Belfast.
The distillery actually opened about two weeks ago with a quiet debut. The “grand opening” weekend is focused on celebrating the achievement with customers and the community.
The ownership team includes brother-in-laws Doug Hanchett of Belmont and Larry Renna of Clifford, Pennsylvania, and business partner Alex Warren.
The business has been in development for about 18 months, and is housed in a 2,500 square foot Main Street space that has undergone a complete inside and out renovation.
BelCliff is one of the crown jewels in a resurgent Belfast downtown led by native son Joe Curcio. A developer, Curcio has turned disused and underdeveloped commercial space into an “incubation center” for new businesses.
The 41 Main St. site has had multiple previous uses, but is probably best known as the former International Harvester Sales & Service store.
The dream is officially a distillery
The tractors are gone. With the conversion, the distillery has a tasting room, a retail section and production facilities with two stills, a large one and a small one.
BelCliff features bourbon and rye whiskies “crafted with deep respect for traditional process and a commitment to exceptional quality at accessible prices,” the distillery said in Facebook post.
The grand opening fulfills long-time dreams for Renna and Hanchett, a life-long Allegany County resident, farmer and home brewer.
Hanchett is BelCliff’s chief distiller.
“Taking grains and turning them into spirits is thousands of years old. To take this ancient knowledge and utilize modern equipment to create something new is truly exciting,” Hanchett told The Evening Tribune last August.
Grand opening hours are noon to 6 p.m. on March 28, and noon to 5 p.m., on March 29. BelCliff is bringing in a food truck for the weekend, setting it up in front of the business.
Inside, the distillery will have a full array of its whiskey flights, including bourbon, rye and a four-drain whiskey. They have retail bottles for sale along with merchandise, including like T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats.
Going forward, this when BelCliff will be open
The distillery is open four days a week.
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This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Allegany County’s first distillery debuts. Inside BelCliff Distilling
Reporting by Neal Simon, Hornell Evening Tribune / The Evening Tribune
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