Founded
2014
Mission
A unique micro-distillery producing premium spirits in honor of five great men. Embracing the values of brotherhood, sisterhood, community, and family.
What They Do
- Premium, small batch, hand-crafted spirits
- Cocktails
- Events
- Distribution of spirits to international retailers
- Restaurant- Coming soon!
We were already excited about the Vodka and White Whiskey cocktails crafted at this cornerstone distillery, but when we learned about the soon-to-come Raspberry Lavender Absinthe Americane’ our interest was peaked! And new handcrafted premium spirits aren’t the only changes coming to Five Saints Distilling. This award-winning distillery is proud to be an anchor in the revitalization of Main Street in Norristown and has some major upgrades on the horizon.
“We are continuing to repurpose the second floor into a restaurant and the third floor will be an events hall for rental. Some modifications are the installation of an elevator as well as an egress on the parking lot side. A lot of major renovation and additional infrastructure and investment, and we believe it will be worth it,” says Five Saints Owner/Founder/Distiller, John George.
John purchased The Humane Fire Engine Co #1 building in 2014 and began a two-year renovation that led to Five Saints Distilling opening its doors July 4th, 2016. The efforts by John, his family and team has resulted in winning both a Selma Award from the Norristown Historical Society and being named the “Best Building Repurposed Into a Distillery” in 2017 from the American Distilling Institute.
Since opening, Five Saints has become entrenched in the community in more ways than one. “We source locally whenever and wherever possible including grain ingredients from the Norristown Farm Park with the help of Bill Beam of Beam Farms. We work closely with other Norristown and surrounding businesses to build an alliance of support and awareness of Norristown and surrounding communities. These include the Theatre Horizon, Rotation Records, the Centre Theatre, the Elmwood Park Zoo, and Timshel Coffee just to name a few,” said John.
“We help to sponsor fundraising events for local needs and we take every chance we get to add to and support the excitement and awareness about a changing Norristown with a rapidly approaching and great future. The Humane Firehouse #1 has served the community for almost 200 years and we are proud that it is continuing to serve the community as a location where folks can relax, connect, enjoy and savor friends and family.”
An interesting fact about this revived landmark and community meeting space is that came close to having an equally reverent, but less pious moniker.
“Originally when I was looking to make the distillery, I was going to name it Five Fathers after the 5 men who raised me,” John explained. “I have a biological father, John, who died very young unfortunately, so I was raised by his three brothers (Uncle Ray, Joe, and Bob) and a close family friend (Giovanni). I wanted to honor them with the name Five Fathers Distilling…Until I found out very shortly thereafter, Jim Beam came out with the Five Fathers Limited Edition Bourbon so I had to come up with another name; it got me thinking about growing up with them. I was a royal pain in the ass to raise and they were patient and a bunch of saints for putting up with me, so the name Five Saints stuck.”
If you haven’t done so yet, find time to stop by Five Saints Distilling and meet John, his wife Amy, Iron Will the assistant distiller and great team of bartenders that make Five Saints a one-of-a-kind destination in Montgomery County. . Enjoy their award winning Vodka, White Whiskey, Savory Tuscan Style Gin, Blood Orange Liqueur and Get To Know this new staple of Norristown present, past and future.
You can learn more about their historic building and the Five Saints story at fivesaintsdistilling.com, and make sure to follow them @five_saints_distillery on instagram and @fivesaintsdisllery on Facebook.
