By Eric Seiverling
David Baustert lifts the lid off a vat of brown, bubbling cane sugar and lets the aroma escape into the air.
“It smells so good,” Baustert said, closing the lid to let the two-week fermentation process finish so the liquid will eventually see the light of day as rum, gin, vodka or moonshine.
But this isn’t your grandfather’s rum or moonshine.
As owner of Crooked Creek Distillery on South Water Street in West Newton, Baustert is taking the plunge into the growing business of handcrafted spirits that include flavors that run the gamut from apple pie, pumpkin pie, blackberry lavender lemonade and cranberry holiday spice.
Baustert’s efforts paid off when Crooked Creek Distillery won the People’s Choice Award at the Whiskey Smash event in West Overton last month, where Baustert beat out numerous distillers from across Pennsylvania.
“We come up with our own ideas for flavors,” said Baustert, who gets help from his wife Meredith in running the distillery. “We’re always trying different ways to make drinks. We do a lot of experimenting with our spirits. When we come up with a flavor we like, we can begin to share it with our customers by giving them free samples and asking for their opinions.”
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