Dead Drop Distillery Tour

What happens when a bunch of really cool people take over Al Capone’s old stomping grounds?

They turned it into a distillery, of course. And one of the hottest ones around: Thornton distilling, AKA Dead Drop Spirits.

So on Sunday, I, along with Yossi Schwarzmer & Meir Weiss, flew down to a little town called Thornton, IL to visit this incredible distillery and learn more about its historic and present operations.

And yes, this place really was run by Al Capone and his henchmen. As owner Jake Weiss gave us the grand tour, he explained to us how the operations looked like back then. From the outside, it looked like a plain old soda pop factory, but on the inside something entirely different was brewing. Beer and spirits, at a time when both were highly illegal, the prohibition era.

We were then shown around the modern day distillery by Head Distiller Ari Klafter, who gave us a whole other level of appreciation for the craftsmanship that goes into each and every bottle. I tried some incredible products straight out of the barrel, including some unreleased American single malt. And let me tell you, these people truly care about making incredible products, and it shows.

So why did I travel all the way to a remote town in Illinois? For the free booze? Well maybe, but also because I’m on a mission to educate kosher consumers about the spirits world and the incredible products on the market.

L'chaim 🥂

Jake