Bourbon distillery starting in Boise

Brad Iverson-Long//March 26, 2014//

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Mike Nicholson with Idaho Bourbon Distillers with an oak barrel, which gives bourbon some of its color and flavor during the aging process. Photo by Pete Grady. — Mike Nicholson, owner of Idaho Bourbon Distillers, with an oak barrel, which gives bourbon some of its color and flavor during the aging process. Photo by Pete Grady.

Matthew Nicholson is planning to open his new distillery, Idaho Bourbon Distillery, in May. He’ll be selling vodka and moonshine while he waits for his titular product to age in charred oak barrels.

“The hardest part about a distillery is that things take time,” Nicholson said. “Your startup costs are high and you need to be willing to sit on your product for a while, most of the time.”

Nicholson said his vodka and moonshine will be available later this year .

Idaho Bourbon Distillery will be at least the fifth distillery in the Treasure Valley. It follows Koenig Winery and Distillery in Nampa and Bardenay Restaurant and Distillery, Revolution Vodka and 8 Feathers Distillery, all in Boise.

There is a growing market for bourbon among spirits. Sales of bourbon in the U.S. are up 34 percent since 2008 to $2.4 billion, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Bourbon revenues are still less than half those of vodka at $5.5 billion, though vodka sales are up just 25 percent since 2008.

Nicholson is still waiting for approval from the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and waiting for distilling equipment to ship before he can start producing spirits. He said his distillery, in a 2,500 square foot space in west Boise, should top out at three employees in August.