JASONVILLE, Ind. (WTHI) -- Coal Craft Spirits is the name of a farm-to-bottle craft distillery starting in Greene County.
The name is a tribute to the property's origin, which was once the Landree Mine in Jasonville.
Land Betterment Corp. of Fishers, Indiana, bought the site from a defunct New York hedge fund.
"There's 22 acres of farmland there. There's also nice ponds surrounded by trees, and the idea of a farm-to-bottle craft distillery popped in our mind,” said Kirk Taylor, executive president of Land Betterment.
As part of the farm-to-bottle concept, the company plans on growing many of its ingredients on-site, including rye and garlic.
"We are all in one site. I mean it is all being farmed there, processed there and used there, which I think is really cool,” said Mark Jensen, executive chairman of Land Betterment.
Many of the former coal mine employees will have the opportunity to put their skills to work in a new area.
"We're already employing, total people out there, employees and contractors, probably 8 people, with the goal of once this place is up and running, we'll probably have over 40 jobs created,” Jensen said.
He says the company is partnering with experts from Kentucky who have started distilleries in the past.
The company says many of the former coal workers are excited about this new opportunity.
"In some of these rural areas, there's not a lot of opportunity and they don't want to leave. They don't want to go move into the city or do something different. They want to live where they grew up at. They want to raise their families there. To be able to provide them that opportunity, I mean, it's pretty emotional for us just because we view these people as family,” Jensen said.
