Historie

Bellemara Distillery is a newly established distillery in Hillsborough, NJ. Founded by Camden Winkelstein, who in his past has been a Navy Submarine Officer and has experience bringing new projects from idea to reality. He spent a year in Scotland to learn whisky production and earned a Master’s degree in Brewing and Distilling at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. The idea was to combine traditional Scottish production methods with American aging and refinement methods to create new, unique spirits. The name Bellemara roughly means 'beauty of the sea', which links the movements of the sea to the whisky's complexity. The brand aims to make the whisky experience more accessible and provides customers with knowledge about spirits, because knowledge is power and it all starts with a single sip.

Produktion / Fremstilling

Bellemara produces grain-to-glass spirits, and all products are produced at the distillery in Hillsborough, NJ. Production uses 100% malted barley, and all steps – mashing, fermenting, distilling, maturation, and bottling – are carried out by Bellemara themselves. One of the production lines is an unaged Single Malt Spirit, which is double-distilled and carbon-filtered to preserve the malt's character while also being suitable for cocktails. As part of their whisky universe, they also have American Single Malt Whisky on the menu. A central part of the brand is their approach that everything is grain-to-glass and that the entire process should occur at the company that stands on the bottle.

Produkter / Whisky-serien

Bellemara has as one of their main products an American Single Malt Whisky. In addition, a Single Malt Spirit is mentioned, which is an unaged, clear spirit that is double-distilled and carbon-filtered and is not labeled as vodka, but as its own category of barley-based products. All products are produced from 100% malted barley at the distillery.

Besøg og Oplevelser

The distillery and tasting room are located at Carriage Farm in Hillsborough. Their hours and events are shown on the website, and reservations are recommended, especially on weekends. The tasting room offers cocktails based on their own products, and there is the possibility for private events in a lounge or a semi-lounge area. They allow BYOF (bring your own food) and the option for delivered food; there is no full kitchen on site. For private events, you can also bring your own beer or wine under certain conditions. Dogs are no longer allowed on the terrace or indoors, but service dogs are allowed. There is a special hotel rate via Bridgewater Marriott for Bellemara guests.

Filosofi

Bellemara lives by the motto “Just smile, nod and drink.” and aims to help people discover whisky and spirits through knowledge and understanding. They work to combine traditional Scottish techniques with American aging methods to create something new and distinctive, and they believe that the entire process from mashing to bottling should be integrated in the same company that appears on the bottle.