Local distillery unveils its 1st spirit: 'Desperate Times Sippin' Shine'

Sojourners Brewstillery had opened in Washington Twp. just before the statewide shutdown closed its tap room
Sojourners Brewstillery in Washington Twp. has unveiled its first spirits, Desperate Times Sippin' Shine.

Credit: Contributed

Credit: Contributed

Sojourners Brewstillery in Washington Twp. has unveiled its first spirits, Desperate Times Sippin' Shine.

A Washington Twp. distillery that opened its doors to the public just two weeks before a statewide order shut down its tap room has unveiled its first spirits, appropriately named “Desperate Times Sippin’ Shine.”

 

Sojourners Brewstillery — a combination brewery and distillery that served its first customers on Feb. 28 and was forced to close its tap room on March 15 — is located at 8150 Washington Village Drive in the Yankee Business Center. It is still open on weekends for growler/howler beer fills, on Fridays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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“The still is up and running, and Moonshine is here!” owners Jeff and Laura Marjamaa said on the brewery’s Facebook page. The unflavored Desperate Times Sippin’ Shine is being sold for $10 a pint jar and $20 a quart. Apple Pie Moonshine sells for $15 per pint.

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Sojourners equipment has been running at nearly full capacity producing hand sanitizer for local nursing homes “as we possibly can,” Jeff Marjamaa said. The moonshine plan came after he and his wife were “trying to figure out what we could to generate revenue to keep the business afloat,” he said.

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The challenge was to create a new product “that wouldn’t disturb the sanitizer production and that we could bring to market quickly,” Marjamaa said.

“Moonshine itself hadn’t been in the original plan, but it’s really ended up being perfect in terms of the tanks we have available and the amount of time we have free on the still between sanitizer runs,” Marjamaa said. “As for the name, well, it just seemed like a perfect fit given the circumstances that we all find ourselves in.”

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“We’ll have a variety of flavors coming out, including Margarita, Lemon Drop, and Honey Jalapeno, among others.”

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When it reopens fully, the 6,000-square-foot brewery and distillery will double as an indoor playground of sorts for adults and kids, with corn hole boards, a pool table, a ping-pong table, an elevated shuffleboard table, a Foosball table, Ladder ball, a video-game console that contains more than 2,000 games, and a popcorn machine.

For more information, go to Facebook.com/SojournersBrewstillery.

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