While the last decade or two has seen the rise of a dizzying number of craft breweries putting out all varieties of beer, the world of craft spirits remained virtually unheard of in our state until just recently.

“The craft distillation laws were only introduced in 2013,” says Mark Ganter, founder and co-owner of Little Water Distillery in Atlantic City.

“It’s so new, it’s really in its infancy. You won’t see any two craft distilleries doing the same thing at this point. Everyone has their own spin on how this is done. We have an opportunity to really create the industry.”

And that is exactly what they plan to do. Although the grand opening is set for Saturday, March 25, they have been operating since the end of last year. The facility is open to the public, and people can come in for tastings of the spirits that they offer, along with getting a peek behind the scenes of how the booze is made.

Keeping it in the family

The Ganter brothers fell into the distilling business almost by accident. While they both were fans of spirits, it wasn’t until a milestone birthday for their father came along that turned things on its head.

“For my father’s 70th birthday we bought him a still. And we all kind of bonded around that and had a good time with it. Right around that time they passed the craft distillation laws in New Jersey. We decided to give ourselves six months to come up with some recipes in order to see if starting this company was even possible to do. By the time six months rolled around we had written the business plan and were going around to banks. We realized at that point, whether we are doing this or not, we have already started,” Ganter says.

With family in the Atlantic City area, this seemed like the perfect place for them to set up shop.

Read more at source: Atlantic City Weekly