While there are several great distilleries in the Philadelphia region, some of them stand out not just by the quality of their drinks, but also by doing good in their communities, writes Irene Levy Baker for The Philadelphia Citizen. 

Bluebird Distilling in Phoenixville is one of them. 

Jared Adkins decided to dip his toe into distilling after reading that local spirit laws were easing for the first time since the days of Prohibition. So, he transformed an abandoned Phoenixville building into a distillery and started making small-batch whiskies. He also added an attached cocktail bar. 

Since 2015, the distillery has used a state-of-the-art, hybrid copper still to make wheat whiskey, four-grain bourbon, rye whiskey, and white rye whiskey. Additionally, it produces more craft spirits such as Juniperus gin, vodka, sugarcane rum, and dark rum. 

Bluebird, which was named one of the top five brandy distilleries in the nation by USA Today in 2019, paused its production of spirits to make hand sanitizer at the start of the pandemic. The product was sold at cost to hospitals, doctors’ offices, and local at-risk communities. 

Bluebird also partnered more recently with MilkBoy Philadelphia to raise money for the Morris Animal Refuge. 

Read more about Bluebird Distilling from The Philadelphia Citizen.