W.P. Palmer Distilling Co. in Manayunk making gin that dates back to American Revolution

MANAYUNK (WPVI) -- In 2015, Walter Palmer III started charting a new course in life, founding the W.P. Palmer Distilling Company with his wife, Katy. The two co-own the business together.

"Our main product that we make is Palmer's Liberty Gin," says Palmer. "We do small batches."

He says they didn't want to make a gin infused with cucumbers or rose hip, instead choosing to focus on "a classic gin spirit."

Palmer waded into new waters, so to speak, out of necessity.

"I was president of the General Building Contractors Association," says Palmer. "For over 27 years I had a job there. One day I had a job and the next day I didn't."

Because he couldn't sit still, he decided to distill.

"I went up to Cornell, I took some distilling classes," he says.

He says he makes the gin in an 800-liter copper pot still that was made for them in Portugal.

"Distillation is an ancient art," he says. "It's a pot with a lid and a flame, and you're basically boiling."

He says gin is "a spirit predominantly distilled with juniper berries."

And, because his business is rooted in Philadelphia, Palmer chose a gin recipe fit for the founding fathers.

"Our recipe comes from this 18th century Dutch manuscript of a trading ship that comes through Philadelphia around 1780," says Palmer.

It's made with six botanicals that include juniper, cardamom, coriander, angelica root, lemon peel, and grains of paradise.

"We wanted our gin to be a gold standard of gin," he says.

When making gin, he says he adds the six botanicals, lots of spring water and a neutral spirit to the copper pot.

"I'm making something in Manayunk that 12 miles away from here, somebody like Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Washington could have tasted basically the same thing, made on this same type of still," he says. "We've taken all these separate ingredients, and we've knitted them together through vapor."

The gin hits a proofing tank before being bottled and hand labeled. Palmer's name and face grace the bottle.

He says the name for the gin was inspired by Philadelphia, the birthplace of liberty, since "liberty is a spirit."

"And it's made right here," he says. "It's really kind of wonderful."

For more information:

W.P. Palmer Distilling Co.: https://www.palmerdistilling.com/

Palmer's Liberty Gin: https://www.palmerdistilling.com/#liberty-gin

W.P. Palmer Distilling Co. on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/palmerdistilling/