Deacon Giles Distillery Opens in Salem

A distillery with its namesake in a spooky story opens today in Salem, just in time for Halloween. Deacon Giles Distillery will offer tastings, tours, and to-go bottles, according to Boston Magazine. This is the first distillery to operate in Salem for more than 100 years, according to its website.

Co-founders Ian Hunter and Jesse Brenneman named Deacon Giles Distillery (75 Canal St.) after a fictional story of an impious Massachusetts man named Amos Giles, who was known for "distilling rum on the Sabbath, paying his employees with liquor and selling bibles from his counting room." He also unknowingly hired demons to work in his distillery. The story, first published in 1835, was the work of George B. Cheever, a minister and temperance leader who received backlash after its publishing.

Hunter and Brenneman drew upon this story when crafting Deacon Giles Distillery, where they make "Original Sin" gin and "Liquid Damnation" rum, embracing the "virtuous and mischievous" elements of the story. "We wanted to roll up our sleeves and craft something exceptional using our own hands, uniquely infused with our personalities and steeped in history," they wrote on the company's website.

Deacon Giles will be open Fridays and Saturdays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

[Logo: Official Site]

Foursquare

Deacon Giles Distillery

75 Canal St, Salem, MA 01970 (978) 306-6675 Visit Website