Inaugural Distillery Debuts in Falls Church

Thanks to a clerical error Falls Church Distillers can’t yet sell the specialty gin, vodka, or bourbon it plans to introduce to the area, but the homegrown liquor producer is free to dispense beer and wine at the new facility it unveiled July 8.

“Spirits will lag by about a week due to an ABC agent not submitting my paperwork a month ago. Can't make that stuff up,” the fledgling distillery alerted potential visitors over the weekend via social media.

In addition to straight bourbon, the 3,400-square-foot operation at 442 S. Washington Street makes traditional gin, citrus-infused gin, and pineapple-flavored gin as well as regular and pepper vodka. About 350 bottles will be produced each month initially, will capacity for more.

Also on tap: local beers and a selection of Italian wines, currently paired with small plates like antipasti, bruschetta, panini sandwiches, and honey mascarpone fig gelato. For-sale paintings and photographs from Let Art Live On are posted on the mandatory metal gate sectioning off the 60-seat restaurant from the dedicated production arm of the business. The nucleus of the site is a 300-gallon still.

The man behind the distillery is Falls Church resident Michael Paluzzi, an Air Force veteran who grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania where alcohol-making was commonplace. Spirit making is on the rise in Virginia; stay tuned for coverage of Bristow’s MurLarkey Distilled Spirits.

Retail prices range from $29.99 for the vodka to $49.99 for the Church Bourbon Whiskey. A full complement of three-ounces of tastings, with three drink options for each flavor, is $25. Sales will start soon.

“Everything should be in place for our own ABC on-premise store within the week,” said Paluzzi.

Falls Church Distillers is open from 5 p.m. to midnight on Wednesdays and Thursdays, noon to midnight on Saturdays, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Status: Certified open. 442 S. Washington Street, Falls Church, Va.; website.