Thornton Distilling Co.

10/21/2022

🍁🍂 Feelin’ foggy? We sure do. We have a major case of those Fall feels and it sure feels good! As luck would have it we have just the beer for an evening on the patio around the fire ~ Foggy Geezer American IPA 🍻 Made locally by our friends at Warpigs in Munster.

Very refreshing. Perfectly balanced. Gates are open ‘til 1am 🍂🍃

10/21/2022

We’re excited to announce that Mixology classes are back! The classes are a fun way to learn the craft with a group of your friends and loved ones. We offer a stirred class ($60 per person) and a shaken class ($80 per person and includes a cocktail shaker for your home bar!). Each class will include the creation of 3 cocktails selected by the guest and enjoyed by all during the class.

The private group classes can be scheduled during our regular restaurant hours. To learn more please visit us online and submit an inquiry at: [email protected] or
https://thorntondistilling.com/private-events/-us

There’s a 10 person minimum for the private group classes so rally your troops for a fun and educational experience!🍹 We also plan on publishing classes open to the public with individual tickets and no minimums this winter!

10/19/2022

Today we’re v***r infusing vodka with fresh etrog peel.

What is an etrog you ask? Etrog is the yellow citron fruit traditionally used during the week-long Jewish celebration of Sukkot and has a zesty aroma similar to that of fresh lemon. Lucky for us, we were able to get our hands on some absolutely gorgeous fruits from Italy, Morocco, Israel and California. Due to the extremely exacting standards involved in selecting etrogs, a single fruit will typically retail for around $15 and the finest specimens can fetch up to $1,000 apiece!

Given just how special this ingredient is, our Head Distiller Ari decided to peel each one by hand and build an infusion chamber on our test still in order to subtly extract the delicate citrus aromas into a small batch of experimental vodka.

10/17/2022

Such a sweet Up themed wedding for this amazingly sweet couple! Congratulations to Katie and Zack who said “Hell yeah!” this past weekend! Wishing you a lifetime full of adventure!

10/15/2022

Cheers to Saturday with a Dead Drop Old Fashioned. Gates open til 1am.

10/14/2022

We had a spooktacular October 13th wedding last night, congratulations again to Amanda and Dylan! Wishing you all the love forever, ‘til death 💀 ❤️

Calling all spooky bride babes, booking October 2023/2024 weddings now!
✅ historical building
✅ unique distillery setting
✅ amazing food and drinks
✅ definitely haunted

10/12/2022

October Happy Hour is here! Enjoy half-off cocktails and draft beer every Wed, Thurs, & Friday from 3p-6p.
Happy hour is best paired with a delicious dinner. In fact we recently learned that monsters don't eat ghosts because they taste like sheet... Both monsters and ghosts actually prefer Barbacoa Tacos. 🌮👻👹

10/11/2022

A perfect night for a perfect couple, congratulations and best wishes again to Fani and Aaron who said I do this past Saturday!

10/10/2022

We love collaborations, particularly when they allow us to do things never before attempted in distilled spirits. As far as we can tell, this might be the first single malt whisky fully-matured in cherry brandy casks.

This time we’ve teamed up with Illinois’-own Star Union Spirits to source barrels that previously held their award-winning Cherry Brandy. Distilled entirely from Michigan estate-grown Montmorency cherries, the brandy has a supple, tart cherry character teeming with baking spices that our Head Distiller Ari Klafter quickly fell in love with and instantly knew would marry beautifully with our delicate, berry-forward single malt whisky. While only just filled, we expect these uncharred toasted oak barrels to mature gracefully in the coming years, bringing forth the best flavors of both single malt and stone fruit brandy.

Cheers to collaboration, innovation and breaking boundaries!

10/05/2022

10/03/2022

Congratulations to Jamie and Matt who tied the knot this past weekend! It was amazing to hear our historic building has been a part of Matt’s family and we are honored they chose our wedding venue to start this new chapter in their lives!

10/01/2022

After selling out last month the Dead Drop Old Fashioned is back!

Gates open at 3pm. It’s a fine day to pair a cold beverage with delicious food and a healthy dose of sunshine on our patio (while you still can!) 😎🥃

The Dead Drop Old Fashioned brings together traditional straight bourbon whiskey with our house made rich demerara syrup and aromatic bitters.

Made with premium Madagascar and Tahitian vanilla beans, wild cherry bark, bitter orange peel, Saigon cinnamon, fresh ginger, and other carefully selected herbs and spices. Just pour over ice and serve.

TASTING NOTES:
Vanilla, clove, and rich bourbon notes
on the nose. Toffee and baking
spice come together with blood orange. Aromatic biters and a hint of spearmint in the finish.

09/28/2022

Head Distiller, Ari Klafter chats American Single Malt Whisky, pre-prohibition brewing in our building, and gin-making in this interview with the Chicago Drinks Guide

Read the full interview here:

https://chicagodrinksguide.com/en/blog/features-106/people-107/ari-klafter-discloses-handwritten-beer-orders-from-the-prohibition-era-154.htm

09/26/2022

Cynthia and Jeff packed the house this past Saturday as we celebrated their love with all of their family, friends, and a mariachi band! Congratulations again to this lovely couple! ❤️

09/19/2022

Congratulations to Amanda and Mike! We had the pleasure to host their gorgeous wedding this past Saturday. Elevate Home Events did an amazing job putting this vision together!

09/12/2022

We love seeing the creative vision of our brides come to life! Our Cooper’s Hall became a beautiful green house last Saturday as we celebrated Gina and Ryan. Congratulations and best wishes again to this lovely couple! ❤️🌿

09/07/2022

Happy Wednesday Everyone! We've got such a huge week ahead of us and we're so excited to kick it off with you!

Today we'll be hosting our weekly Jam night here at Thornton with Jack Whittle and Friends! Come bring your instruments, friends and good vibes tonight and we're kicking off at 7!

09/06/2022

A tale of two bestmen but I think we all knew who the real MVP was at this wedding. Congratulations again to Jessika and Sam! We had a blast celebrating with you! ❤️🐶🖤

08/30/2022

Designing blends is one of the most rewarding parts of being a distiller. It’s watching your barrels evolve over the years and develop their own unique personalities, and seeing how the flavors come together when you introduce them to one another.

Here we are tasting through some casks of our KfP barrel-aged rum.

Some of these barrels are made from oak that is charred, some toasted, and some both charred and toasted. Some of them have flavors that are bright and exotic with lots of citrus and overripe tropical fruit, while others are brooding and lush with notes of caramel, peach compote, and vanilla bean. Our philosophy is that when barrels are meticulously tasted, understood and thoughtfully blended, complexity is built and the result can be greater than the sum of its parts.

Cheers to many fun things in the future. 🥃

08/29/2022

This couple said “I do” at the distillery this weekend. Congratulations again to Lauren & Adam! Wishing you a lifetime of happiness!

08/26/2022

Woot! We just love getting some freshly-emptied ex-bourbon barrels.

What kind of single malt whisky should we fill them with?

a) Unpeated whisky made from American pale ale, German Munich, British brown and Belgian Special-B brewers' malts?

Or

B) Peated whisky from Pilsner malt smoked with hand-harvested local peat?

08/24/2022

We’re honored to be featured by Square Roots as their Distillery of the Month!

We’ll be pouring samples and raffling off prizes tonight at Square Roots in Crown Point from 6-8pm. We hope to see you there!

Cheers!

08/22/2022

Imagine dancing the night away under our beautiful skylight. Just another unique perk of our historical Cooper’s Hall. Contact [email protected] to start planning!

08/16/2022

You’re looking at a 15 year Barton 1792 bourbon barrel!

Filled June 11, 2007, dumped in Thornton, Il. on August 2, 2022, and filled with our flagship single malt new make spirit August 5, 2022. How’s that for fresh?!

At Thornton Distilling Co., we’re always on the lookout for interesting barrels to mature our single malt whisky. Given the age and uniqueness of this barrel, we’re aiming for a particularly long maturation with this pot-distilled single malt, and filled it with an especially heavy unpeated spirit so that the whiskey will develop and pick up different characteristics in the coming years.

Cheers! 🥃

08/12/2022

*CONTEST TIME!*

There's only one week left till Groovatron Live Thornton Distilling Co. happens and we want to give out 2 free tickets to the show!!! All you have to do is share this status and tell us in the comments who YOU would make your plus 1 to groove with next Friday! We'll be doing the raffle pull Tuesday morning but you can always get your tickets sooner on the FB event page. Tickets are going fast so get yours soon! Good Luck! 🤞

08/09/2022

We have the great honor of being Square Roots Distillery of the Month! We'll be throwing an event there August 24th to pour our amazing spirits and we'll be talking to everyone about all the great things happening with us! So if you're in the area, come by and say hi! 🥃

Artwork done by: Samuel Camacho

08/06/2022

And with amazing cocktails comes amazing food specials! Chef's whipped up a couple of great specials for this weekend that'll make your mouth water....🤤

Bistro Burger
Premium beef, fried egg, white cheddar, smoked bacon, grilled onions, lettuce, garlic aioli, pretzel bun

Sliders / 3 per order
Beef sliders, grilled onion, bacon aioli, soft bun.

08/06/2022

Genesis would like to introduce you to the Avalon, her latest cocktail and one of the staff favorites featured on our NEW menu 😎

Breezy, crisp, a little bit sweet and oh so refreshing. Genesis’s Avalon is available all summer. She is bartending all night, stop by and let her know what you think. Gates open at 3pm.

💧Dead Drop Cucumber infused Vodka (or Gin)
🥒 Cucumber
🍊Grapefruit
🍋 Lemon

08/02/2022

Whatever you’re celebrating our chef has you covered! Heavy appetizers, stationed apps, light
hors d'oeuvre and desserts to die for, he can do it all!

Plan the prefect menu for your event when you book with Thornton Distilling Co.

07/26/2022

We love to see those professional shots of our weddings just as much as our couples! Llove Studio Photography did an amazing job capturing all the beauty and love of this perfect day for Brandi & Larue 4.9.22
Congratulations again!

Llove Studio Photography 📷

07/25/2022

Another delivery of our custom Illinois peated Pilsner malt from our friends at Sugar Creek Malt Co.! Our distilling team can’t wait to lay down some more rich pot-distilled single malt whisky from malt smoked with hand-harvested local peat.

We though the 1928 International Harvester was a fitting backdrop 🌾

07/22/2022

*SPECIAL ALERT*

Bistro Burger

Premium beef
Fried egg
white cheddar
Smoked bacon
Grilled onions
Lettuce
Garlic aioli
Pretzel bun
🤤🍔🔥

07/21/2022

⚡️Tune-in to WBEZ today to learn more about their recent visit to Thornton Distilling Co.

https://www.wbez.org/stories/whats-that-building-thornton-distilling/7ceedbda-fb70-4c95-83bd-7c85aeead8ae

07/12/2022

A touch a drama, a dash of historical charm, and that romantic industrial feel you just can’t find anywhere else…our bridal suites are ready and waiting for you!

Styled shoot

Venue:
Photographer:
Hair/Makeup:
Florist:
Florist:
Stationer:
Linens:
Ice Cream Cart:
Rental Company:
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Videographer:
Dress:
Cake:
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Planner: