Painted Stave Distilling
Smyrna, Delaware 
Delaware craft distillery offering unique small-batch spirits and craft cocktails
Painted Stave Distilling in Smyrna, Delaware, is a smug little craft factory that refuses to be anemic. They hand-craft small batches of gin, whisky, rum, bourbon and the like with locally sourced ingredients, and then finish some of their spirits in barrels that would make a sommelier weep with pride. The Botanical Dry Gin is a nice, botanically aggressive cocktail-in-a-bottle, while the barrel-finished whiskies prove they can make something even the most cynical whisky snob nod in approval. Seasonal rum releases? They keep you guessing like a roulette wheel spun by a bored housewife.
Their on-site taco truck gives the place a greasy, greasy charm — proof that a good spirit can survive the indignities of a burrito. There’s also a full-blown art exhibition where local painters try to prove they’re not just a lot of paint-and-canvas. And if you can’t resist learning the difference between a martini and a Manhattan, they offer cocktail workshops so you can brag about your new-found skills. The result? A quirky, slightly pretentious spot that delivers genuine, unpretentious quality.
