Novelist William Faulkner once said, “Civilization begins with distillation.” That could be true, since historians tell us the earliest recorded distilling recipe comes from 28 B.C. Distilling and farming go hand in hand, and they have both been long-held traditions of civilization. Growing crops on historical ground for a local distillery and restaurant and then turning them into drinks and food sounds like an art form. That is exactly what owner Yianni Barakos did last year when he opened Mason Dixon Distillery in Gettysburg.
At the young age of 11, with only a sketch that his grandfather drew on a cocktail napkin, Yianni built his very first still. He knew one day he would open a small distillery, but he planned to go into construction project management first. Then tragedy struck, and a car accident put him in bed for two years. He explains, “As I started to recover, it became clear that my previous career path was not going to pan out due to physical limitations, so I jumped in and started to plan out what my distillery would look like. Having been raised in restaurants and seeing the trend of breweries having their own on-site restaurants, it seemed to me like a distillery restaurant was exactly what I had been preparing for, even though I didn’t know it at the time.”
Yianni apprenticed at Smooth Amber Spirits in West Virginia, spent tons of time researching and reading as much as he could about distilling, and ended up touring about 75 distilleries around the country. He and his father, George, then spent several years preparing for opening their distillery restaurant. They took over The Gettysburg Furniture Factory; it took a lot time and hard work to pull off this massive renovation.
While setting up the building and distillery, they were growing some of their own ingredients at Gettysburg National Military Park (GNMP). Yianni explains, “We really had to work hard to convince GNMP to sign an agricultural lease with [people] that [weren’t] actually farmers themselves. What we ended up with is an even stronger connection to the local agricultural community than we would have without that lease. It also has helped us lay the groundwork so that we will eventually be able to run a really special edition of liquor. These special editions will be limited in quantity and in frequency, but we are making batches of spirits that are distilled 100 percent from grain grown on the park. We are actually going to be able to have a product on our shelves that will be Gettysburg National Military Park in [a] bottle. A portion of the sale from each of these bottles will actually be donated to help with GNMP preservation.”
When you walk in the door, there’s an open-space concept with long tables. Yianni wanted a more community feeling and even has small plates on the menu to encourage sharing family-style. He says, “Having spent a good amount of my childhood being raised in a diner, I wanted to recreate the camaraderie that existed at the diner counter. Story swapping and fish tale telling is also encouraged. The community tables, lack of TVs and Wi-Fi, and sharable plates are all there to help foster that social environment.”
You’ll find special drinks of the day, like the Painkiller, which tastes like a creamy piña colada and is served with a wedge of lime and an umbrella. All of their craft-made cocktails are creative and unique, using their own spirits. Their Big Harvest Punch includes corn whiskey—a robust white spirit made from local corn. This drink also has house-made chai spice, preserved citrus and cider.
Yianni’s father has vast experience in the restaurant business, having owned three different restaurants over the years. In fact, George created Mason Dixon’s first menu. However, Yianni explains, “Our current menus have been created by our two chefs and one bartender. The three of them have been incredible in taking my overall concepts and sometimes vague ideas and turning them into an amazing array of offerings.”
One of their most popular items on the menu is a bánh mì, a Vietnamese sandwich popping up everywhere on menus these days. Mason Dixon’s offering has whiskey glazed pork belly, Sriracha aioli and arugula replacing the typical cilantro. For an upgrade, you can get their shrimp and andouille hush puppies along with your sandwich—they are crispy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside, with loads of flavor, bits of andouille sausage and a nice touch of heat at the end.
Brussels sprouts that are deep-fried, topped with cranberries and nuts, and finished with a touch of honey and lemon are a must-try.
Mason Dixon Distillery also sells production tours and tastings. The tours include tastings of their spirits and “explain what each liquor is made from and how it relates to the taste that is found in the spirit,” says Yianni. After the tasting, the tour continues back in the production room and explains each step of their process.
It seems that Yianni has found his niche in small batch distilling and has found his home in Gettysburg. The distance from farm to glass is only five to 10 miles, so Mason Dixon Distillery truly understands the rich history in this town. They no doubt will be around for years to come, for theirs is a history you can taste.
Mason Dixon Distillery | 331 E. Water St., Gettysburg, PA | masondixondistillery.com | 717-398-3385
