Take a stunning historic mill building, add a gleaming state of the art distillery, top it off with a delicious chef-driven restaurant, and you’ve got the recipe for a truly memorable experience.

Located in Franklin, Massachusetts, GlenPharmer Distillery is the kind of place that defies simple definitions.  Because a visit here can be so many different things. It’s a working distillery offering tours and tastings, and spirits for sale. It’s a restaurant with a scratch kitchen serving contemporary modern American fare. And it’s a beautiful building boasting indoor seating, outdoor seating, and even cozy seating under a covered bridge.

For owners Beth and Patrick Downing, it all stems from their desire to create award winning spirits.

Patrick Downing – Owner, GlenPharmer Distillery: “GlenPharmer is a grain to glass distillery. So we produce vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and whiskies.”

And their love for spirits, and for each other, started with science.

Patrick Downing – Owner, GlenPharmer Distillery: “Beth and I are both pharmacists. In fact, we met in pharmacy school, we were chemistry lab partners. So we actually have distilled alcohol, although it wasn’t for the purpose of consumption back then.”

Here at GlenPharmer, they leave the production to the professionals.

Patrick Downing – Owner, GlenPharmer Distillery: “We have a head distiller and assistant distiller who do a fantastic job in creating the spirits. We participate in the process, but we definitely leave the heavy lifting to the experts.”

When it comes to the food, they brought in Executive Chef Eric Zediker to tie it all together.

Patrick Downing – Owner, GlenPharmer Distillery: “If we could create a dining experience and a restaurant experience that people would enjoy, they would come for the food as well as the spirits. And that’s what we set out to create. And we’re fortunate enough to have a chef who believed in what we were doing, and he’s done a great job with it.”

Since GlenPharmer is a distillery, you should start your meal with something to drink, whether you want to sample some spirits straight up, or mixed into some creative cocktails.

Patrick Downing – Owner, GlenPharmer Distillery: “Certainly people enjoy tasting the spirits on their own. But at the same time, people want to have great cocktails. So we’ve put a concerted effort into making sure that we have a unique offering of cocktails. We change it up regularly. We’ve had a few staples that have stayed on the menu, but we’re always looking to create new creations and interesting flavors, pairing them together.”

As for the food, appetizers include Korean Glazed Short Rib Bites with candied bacon and charred sweet potato, and housemade Meatballs smothered in tomato sauce and blanketed with creamy parmesan.

Beth Downing – Owner, GlenPharmer Distillery: “The meatballs are my absolute favorite. They are so soft. The sauce is amazing, and the creamy Parmesan on top, it is my all-time favorite meatball.”

If mozzarella sticks are your thing, Chef Eric has created a delicious upscale version called Mozzarella Cigars.

Eric Zediker – Executive Chef, GlenPharmer Distillery: “Instead of a breaded, fried mozzarella, we actually roll it in a spring roll and then we crisp it to order. So it’s a very crispy cigar with a little burnt end on it, which is a house little trick that we do, and it’s our fan favorite.”

Another favorite is the Pharmer Flatbread, which incorporates some GlenPharmer spirits in the ingredients.

Eric Zediker – Executive Chef, GlenPharmer Distillery: “We serve it with a housemade bacon jam that we use our Dark Tide Spirit in. And then it has caramelized shallots, and some brown sugar, and some molasses. And then to top it off, we do some blue cheese, and we finish it with fresh arugula, shaved Parmesan, and white truffle oil. It’s by far the best pizza in town.”

When it comes to entrees, there are handhelds like a Double Patty Wagyu Smash Burger, and a Southern Fried Chicken Sandwich. You can also get some Fried Chicken atop a palm sugar waffle with maple glazed bacon and plenty of hot honey. But for a three course meal all on one plate, the New York Strip Steak is a must order.

Patrick Downing – Owner, GlenPharmer Distillery: “When people order the New York Strip, it encompasses essentially an appetizer, a salad, and dinner all in one dish. It starts with a short rib poutine on the bottom, covered with a large, perfectly grilled New York strip steak, and then topped off with a delicious asparagus salad that pairs nicely with all of the ingredients.”

The only course that isn’t on that plate is dessert, so finish your meal by ordering one of the chef’s everchanging Bread Puddings, or the Caramelized Apple Streusel, that comes with a kick.

Eric Zediker – Executive Chef, GlenPharmer Distillery: “Our house made streusel here is an old family recipe of mine, it’s made with slowly braised apples with an oat streusel topping, and then we top it off with a vanilla gelato, baked in a cast iron dish.”

Beth Downing – Owner, GlenPharmer Distillery: “One of the coolest things about the streusel is we serve it with a pipette of Bog. Bog is our cranberry vodka. So you take the pipette of Bog and have it go around the streusel after it’s served to you, and it is delicious.”

And it’s all served in a unique space, where the experience of dining and drinking are made even better by the beautiful surroundings.

Beth Downing – Owner, GlenPharmer Distillery: “This building is gorgeous. It’s a granite building with heavy timber, and it used to be a mill. It’s located next to a river of which mills were often located near rivers because they needed the water. And in fact, distilleries were often near rivers because of the need for water. So it just married in nicely with the whole concept of what we were trying to do. And it not only looks like it should house a distillery, now in fact it does.”