Kerry Breen, the owner and head distiller at Independent Spirits has always considered herself a maker.
But a while back, she said she found herself on a search to find a new direction in her life, and something new to make.
In 2013, New Jersey made changes to some regulations that allowed for the creation of small craft distilleries. She said her then-husband heard a report about that news on NPR, and knowing that she was looking for a new venture, he shared what he learned with her.
“He said, ‘you should open a craft distillery,’” she recounted. “I said, ‘I don’t know anything about that. That would be crazy.’”
Despite her hesitation, she said she agreed to put the suggestion on a list of possibilities. As other options fell off the list, she said, she decided to look into it more seriously.
With no prior knowledge of distilling or chemistry, nor a terribly strong interest in drinking spirits, Breen said her research into the industry intrigued her and she decided to take the leap.
“I’m just a mom that broke a little bad,” she said.
Breen’s new business needed a name, and she said the fact that Independent Spirits was available to register went a long way towards validating her choice to pursue the distillery.
“That’s actually me,” she said of the name. “I’m the independent spirit. I love the play on it. You can have an independent spirit. You can be an independent spirit. You can make one. I consider my spirit to be very independent.”
Breen is from Woodstown and she hoped to find a location close to home to house her distillery. She said she was surprised and disappointed when she couldn’t find a property suitable for her new business nearby.
Independent Spirits Distillery (Picture Courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/Independentspiritsdistillery/photos)
“That set me off on a whole odyssey of trying to find the right place,” she said.
They eventually ended up in Woolwich Township in Gloucester County, operating out of a barn in a serene farm setting.
“It’s kind of funny how it worked out,” she said. “I was fighting against going elsewhere, and then my son actually convinced me to consider the property we ended up buying, and it’s really perfect. It really is a great spot for us.
“It speaks to our whole groove. When you sit on the porch with one of our nice crispy cocktails and get the trees and the farmland, it’s just exactly what we need it to be. It really is.”
Independent Spirits Distillery Old Fashioned Made with Their 5 Year Old Bourbon (https://www.facebook.com/Independentspiritsdistillery/photos)
Breen said she started the project in 2015 and by July of 2018, she opened for business.
She said the entire endeavor has meant wearing many different hats and learning many different skills along the way, resulting in a slow and steady building process,
“We create everything in that true, hard way,” Breen said. “I never assumed it would be quick riches, but I enjoy it.”
She said the distillery is now crafting 11 different spirits, including liqueurs, vodka, gin and bourbon.
“I’m super proud of our bourbon,” Breen said.
The current batch in bottles for them is six years old, but Breen said they’re coming to the end of that run, which means they’ll soon be bottling a bourbon that’s been aging for seven years.
“I’m interested in seeing the changes,” she said. “It’s been wonderful each time to open a barrel and have it get better and better. I’m getting a real kick out of that.”
In all of their products, Breen said, Independent Spirits is committed to using locally-grown ingredients. She said she’s often the one serving the items they make to the public and she wants to know she can do so with integrity.
“The spirits speak for themselves,” she said.
Breen said they recently released their blackberry liqueur, which epitomizes the premium they place on using local ingredients. It’s made with water from their well, grains from Rabbit Hill Farms in Shiloh and blackberries from Moods Farm in Elk Township.
“I like making the liqueurs because I can play around with the flavors,” she said. “This one is just blackberry. It doesn’t have a lot of other things going on in it, but it’s delicious.
“I mean how silly would I be to buy (blackberries) from Idaho, when I can go buy it from Richard Mood. He’s a great guy. I love him.”
Breen said her two sons are both involved in the business, which she said has much room to grow and expand in the future.
Breen’s Sons are Both Involved with the Distillery
But, she said there was a point, after she ended up divorcing the husband that suggested the distillery idea, when the business could have ended before it really began.
“I lost hope with it there, but honestly I had lost hope with everything, it wasn’t the distillery,” she said.
But instead she threw herself into her work, got through those tough times, and now she couldn’t imagine it being any other way.
“Thankfully, of course, I didn’t do anything about it,” she said. “I just kept grinding away. Now I can tell you, there will be no more doubt in my mind. The distillery and I are intertwined. This is what I do. I’m a craft distiller. That’s my distillery, and this is how I’m going out.”