Tasting room and tours open at Six-Mile Ordinary.
From time to time, Maury Allen explored ancestry.com, researching his family tree and learning more about his roots. He had already identified many of his ancestors, but when a cousin found an interesting nugget of information from the Revolutionary War Era, a light bulb went on in his head.
At the time, Allen was in the process of naming the distillery that he was launching with his wife, Melissa.
“Five generations ago, my fifth great grandfather Isham Allen owned a tavern six miles outside of Williamsburg, Virginia during the Revolutionary War Era, called Six-Mile Ordinary,” he says. “Taverns were called ordinaries back then.”
Today, the original Six-Mile Ordinary is long gone, and a historical marker stands on the site. But in Columbia, Six-Mile Ordinary has been thriving for more than five years, and in April 2022, Six-Mile Ordinary opened its Fay Street location in the Arcade District to the public.
“Up until April, we weren’t open to the public and were production only,” Allen says. “Our plan in the beginning was to be open to the public way before April, but the brand took off and we had to build an offsite bottling and barrel storage facility. Getting all the bottling equipment and barrels out to the new site allowed us to finally build out the bar and open to the public.”
The renovated tasting room has 1,800 square feet of indoor space, in addition to an outdoor deck and lawn space. As an event space for corporate parties or private events, Six-Mile Ordinary can accommodate eighty-seven people. On a typical day, the tasting room accommodates forty-five guests at high tables, couches, a bar, and other seats throughout the space.
In addition to the tasting room that serves a variety of cocktails, Manhattans, and margaritas to Old Fashioneds and mules, Six-Mile Ordinary is now also offering distillery tours. Tours are available on select dates and can be reserved via Six-Mile Ordinary’s website.
“The tours will be of the production area, and will involve samples of the different things we have,” Allen says. “I plan to do the tours at the end of a distillation run, where it will still be running so guests can see it working.”
While tours just opened to the public in recent weeks, Six-Mile Ordinary’s location in the Arcade District means that the spot has enjoyed a steady stream of customers, thanks to the robust schedule of special events in the district.
“It is exciting to see all the businesses move in and all the events coordinated by our building owner Bobby Campbell and his staff,” Allen says. “We didn’t know how well we would do when they put on an event or festival, but we get hammered.”
At its production facility that opened in March 2022, Six-Mile Ordinary has 6,000 square feet of space to produce vodka, rum, gin, bourbon, and imported tequila.
Brands include Tavern Keep vodka, tequila, whiskey, rum, and gin, which is distributed in six states, and Deep Six Vodka, El Diablo Tequila, Slick Whistle Bourbon, and Old Plank Rum, which are currently available only in Missouri. Allen says Six-Mile Ordinary averages 5,000 gallons per month in sales, which is the equivalent of about 19,000 bottles of liquor.
While the list of brands is substantial, Allen says his goal is to continue to grow the list of brands and products.
“The way I do it is I try to fill the niches the best I can,” he says. “Right now, Tavern Keep is a behind-the-bar product on the bottom shelf, and that’s how we got into the industry. It’s hard to get in, and we went for being cheaper than everyone else but still producing a great product. We win most of our taste tests with the line.”
While Deep Six is a high-end vodka priced under $20, Allen says a middle-of-the-road vodka, priced around $12.99, will debut sometime in mid-2024. A high-end bourbon, still aging in barrels, will eventually be released, but in addition to the aging process, there is much work to be done.
“You have to come up with a brand and a label for every new product,” Allen says. “Sometimes you just get an idea for a cool name for a vodka or a rum.”
A physical therapist by training, Allen also owns Physical Performance Systems, a 100-employee company that provides rehabilitation services to nursing homes and hospitals, while Melissa works as a nurse.
“Melissa went back to college to get her nursing degree, and our plan was to own nursing homes,” Allen says. “We owned three for a while, but we ended up selling those, and concentrated on our rehab company.”
As someone who found joy in touring distilleries and learning the science behind the production process, Allen says that it was a trip to Colorado that kickstarted the idea of opening a distillery.
“I finally got my wife to join me on a tour of a distillery in Colorado, and I didn’t think she would be interested in it, but she was,” Allen says. “She didn’t like all the production going on in the back, but she liked the nice bar and tasting room. She fell in love with that, and I got the green light to pursue the idea.”
Between his responsibilities to Six-Mile Ordinary and Physical Performance Systems, Allen’s plate is full, but he says he has no plans to slow down any time soon.
“I’m always looking for business opportunities, and I have high expectations,” Allen says. “We are hoping that one of our brands takes off nationally. Becoming a national brand would be the ultimate success.”
April 2018
Signed a lease on Fay Street and began building out the distillery.
March 2019
The first sale of Tavern Keep vodka went out to a distributor.
February 2020
Launched rum, gin, whiskey, and tequila under the Tavern Keep brand.
January 2022
Hit 20,000 gallons sold in one month.
March 2022
Construction of the bottling plant was completed.
September 2022
Construction of bar/tasting room began.
April 2023
Construction of bar/tasting room completed and opened to the public and they launched four more brands — Deep Six vodka, Old Plank rum, Slick Whistle bourbon, and El Diablo tequila.
Six-Mile Ordinary
573-554-1662
700 Fay St
sixmileordinary.com
