Dry Point Distillers

What started as an modest interest quickly turned into a dedicated hobby between father and son, Stefan and Chris Schaefer. A fuel alcohol distilling permit and a promise to use our distillation products only for use in our home farm equipment allowed us the freedom to experiment with sources of fermentable products and to refine our process and our efficiency of bringing to life fine spirits.
As our passion for distilling spirits grew, we applied for our federal craft distilling permit and it soon became obvious that our 8-gallon still made from a converted milk pail was far too small to produce the quantity we wanted. As native Cruceños, we also wanted to find a way to contribute something unique to our amazing community, and we decided to investigate the possibility of opening a craft micro-distillery. With inspiration and guidance from our good friends Peter and Zach at Still Spirits in Albuquerque, we began the long process of federal and state permitting, business planning, building design and the development our budding distillery.
After buying a 26-gallon column still, which is still in use today, anything and everything was experimented with. Earthy sweet Honey Mesquite pods from our local desert West Mesa, pomegranates and peaches from our yards and our neighbors, fresh red chile from the valley, and prickly pear fruits from the local ditch banks, all went into the fermenter and stills. While we live in a region that others might think of as dry and desolate, we know the abundance of local fruits and produce in our surrounding region that are ripe for drink making!
Several long years later and Dry Point Distillers was mature enough to open. Our love for the desert and the local Desert Peaks inspired our name and our hope to capture the subtly rich spirit of the desert in a bottle.

Author: Dirk Jahn