4 days ago
True Standard Distilling comes to downtown Frederick
One of the keys to True Standard Distilling's operations sits away from the shiny white quartz countertop of the new tasting room or the 500-gallon copper still that sits behind a glass wall nearby.
In a corner of a back room of the distillery — which celebrated its grand opening on Frederick's North Carroll Street on May 29 — is a case of glass beakers, each labeled with a strip of blue tape.
The beakers contain extracts pulled from various types of fruits and spices, which head distiller Kristian Naslund, co-owner Brian Allen, and their team use in creating the distillery's products.
Each of the extracts — whether from orange, grapefruit, lime, peppercorn, ginger, cardamom, or other items — is made in-house, said Allen, who co-owns the business with his wife, Ashley.
The products include silver rum, spiced rum, silver spiced rum, and dark spiced rum, as well as a vodka.
'We're a house of cane,' Allen said, with their drinks based around cane sugars.
The silver spiced rum is especially good for light, refreshing summer drinks, Naslund said.
'We want to be able to appeal to anyone who walks in the door,' he said.
The neighborhood near Frederick's East Street has a history of brewing and distilling, Allen said.
He and Ashley looked at the building, a former antique store, several years ago when they were looking for a location, then came back to it in 2021, he said.
They kept most of the exterior walls, but gutted almost everything else, took off the roof, put in new trusses, and rebuilt the front wall.
It took about a year to design the new building, and about two years to construct, he said.
Allen started distilling as a hobby about 15 years ago.
He and Ashley have three children. Eventually, she told him, he needed to find another location for his hobby other than at their house, he said with a laugh.
He said he most enjoys the art and craftsmanship of experimenting with chemistry to create different products.
Naslund also started distilling as a hobby, and began working professionally in Colorado in 2008.
He said he likes trying to improve on a technique developed a long time ago, as well as the people he comes in contact with.
'For me, it's the people and connections, he said.
He said that when he met Allen, he showed Naslund what he had in mind, then let him go to work.
About 90% of what they produce goes into old bourbon barrels to age, Allen said. The barrels are stacked along a rear wall of the distillery's back room.
The rest goes into the spiced rum and other drinks.
Rum is traditionally aged in barrels, and flavors are pulled out of the wood, Naslund said.
Along with the tasting room in Frederick, they're also focusing on distribution to be able to sell their product outside the Frederick area, Allen said.
The tasting room is about 1,500 square feet, while the building is about 9,000 square feet overall, he said.
They currently have 11 employees, bur plan to eventually have 15 to 20, he said.
They're looking for a good chef, but are currently coordinating with some food trucks to provide food options, he said.
As the business continues to grow, both Allen and Naslund are enjoying making a living at what they love.
'Once you get into the hobby of distilling, it gets into your blood, literally and figuratively,' Allen said.
