Gate 11 Is Producing Some Special Spirits

The Tennessee Whiskey Trail is a convenient way to plot your way around various tasting rooms and distilleries across the state. But what if I told you that you can visit three different distilleries in one city block? Of course, you’ll have to drive to Chattanooga to find them, but a trip to the ’Noog is always a good idea.

In the immediate area surrounding the Chattanooga Choo Choo, you can find Chattanooga Whiskey Co.’s experimental distillery, DAM Whiskey Corp. and Gate 11 Distillery within a minute’s walk from one another. That’s not even mentioning the fact that Tailgate Brewery and WanderLinger Brewing Co. are also within a stone’s throw of any of the three distilleries.

I recently visited Gate 11 to meet with owner Bill Lee, who founded the operation with his wife Wanda. Their production facility and tasting room are actually inside the lobby of the Choo Choo, and it is a marvel of planning and engineering that Bill was able to fit so many different small stills in the cramped space off the tasting room.

An eighth-generation Tennessean, Bill grew up in the Sequatchie Valley near Chattanooga and spent the first part of his career as a research chemical engineer. In addition to working for huge food conglomerates, he also helped develop spirits brands for several companies.

The Lees returned to Chattanooga in 2009 with the idea of building their own distillery. Bill knew he would have to do something different to stand out. “Tennessee is very whiskey-forward,” he told me. “We knew we wanted to offer a broad portfolio and really push cocktails.”

Working with a branding expert named Tavis Salazar, Bill built specific stills designed for particular products. Touring the production area is like crawling around a maze of pipes, pumps and vessels, all created in the mind of a mad scientist with a real vision for how everything would eventually fit together.

On those tiny stills, Bill creates a portfolio of spirits that runs from bourbon, rye and single malt whiskeys to vodka, gin and absinthe. He also makes three different styles of rum and a trio of agave spirits, which he cannot legally call “tequila” because they aren’t made in Mexico.

His brown spirits are actually aged in a boxcar adjacent to the Choo Choo, and the hot environment accelerates the maturing of the whiskey, rums and agaves. To paraphrase Matt Damon in The Martian, Bill Lee isn’t afraid to “science the shit” out of any problem. His experience with laboratory equipment like gas chromatography allowed him to analyze specific esters in his and other distilleries’ products to discover what made up the flavor profiles he desires.

He also uses his chemical engineering acumen in quality control for his stocks of spirits to great effect. His absinthes are truly unique, and the spirit is rarely seen outside of Europe. Offered in a Blanche variety at 112 proof and a Verte at 136 proof, these absinthes are sweet and aromatic. Most importantly, they develop a lovely milky louche when water is added as part of the traditional absinthe ritual offered in the cozy tasting room.

Gate 11 is distributed across Tennessee, and Lee has found placements in some of Nashville’s best bars, including Bastion, The Fox and Green Hour. If you happen to see Gate 11 on the menu or on a liquor store shelf, it’s definitely worth giving it a try!