Short Mountain Distillery — Attraction in McMinnville

I don't like leaving lukewarm reviews but there can be no improvement without constructive criticism, and Short Mountain Distillery seriously needs to revamp their tours and restaurant. We have a particular fondness for visiting small boutique distilleries as the character of the owners and their unique traits usually shine through. As far as distilleries go the outward appearance is unkempt, dirty, disorganized and the tour has the feeling it has been thrown together as an after thought. When the tour was about to start the guide started the grinding process which drowned out any information he was trying to impart. He made no attempt to literally walk us through the process but rather pointed to various different areas as if totally bored with the duty given to him. The outside could be charming with its rocking chairs but they are dirty and certainly not enough seating for the visitor count per tour. Exploring the grounds on our own we discovered an old still in the weeds along with a bridge over a crystal clear stream. That could have been included in the tour as part of this distilleries fascinating history. Being the birthplace of moonshine you'd expect a lot more effort and excitement made of the beautiful property, and it's historic beginnings. Their whiskey, shine and bourbon are without question unique in their flavor profiles. They are comparable to corporate distilleries, one or two of their labels outshine their competitors. The tastings could have been broken up into segments and a palate cleanser given to allow the notes of the grains to really be experienced. The bottles are mid to high dollar which is understandable due to their size and their limited runs. After the tour we walked to their restaurant which looks beautiful resting on a small hilltop. The interior is large, a good size for functions, however, the tables were dirty, as was the floor which was sticky underfoot. The bathrooms had no soap, and no toilet paper. They were less than hygienic. We were greeted warmly by one of the make staff but never asked for our order. After 15 minutes I had to approach one of the serving staff who was taking an order from a group who had arrived long after us. We ordered an Antipasto which had a small selection of excellent meat cuts but the strawberries were past their due date. Based on the incredible history of the original founders this distillery could be a veritable gold mine, however, who ever is in charge of operations and marketing has overlooked this and chosen a lackluster approach to marketing a rather brilliant product. We'd love to see it shaken up and put on the right course to be worthy of...

After reading a lot of great reviews and being a fan of small, local distilleries, my wife reserved a tour and dinner for my birthday with 6 of our friends. For the sake of doing two different things at Short Mtn Distillery, I will divide my review into each one. First, the tour. Understand that this is a small facility, so there is not much that goes into the tour, but I enjoy that because Short Mtn does everything (distilling, bottling, etc) onsite. Our tour guide was entertaining, but wasnt able to answer some of the more detailed questions (barrel char #, etc), which is really no big deal at all. You do get a lot to sample for the $10 charge, so it is a really good deal. The one very off putting thing that occurred during the tour is that our guide referred to Californians moving to this area as "Californian Queers". I imagine that the business doesn't want the employee to interject his own personal and culturally insensitive opinion into the tour. My group did a double take at his comments.

Second part, the dinner. We have heard great things about the dinner and I was excited that they truly try to make it as farm to table as possible. Our group of 8 was sat promptly in time with our reservation. Our server came to the table and took our drink orders in a timely fashion. Then it all went south. After not seeing her for 10 minutes, she came by the table and took our appetizer orders. She said our drinks will be there shortly and that they have only one bar tender. Our first drink came 20 minutes after ordering them. They then came out intermittently until everyone finally had their drinks 30 minutes into our dinner. At about 45 minutes into our arrival, I asked the cashier (we couldnt find our server) if she could check on our appetizers. She was very apologetic and said that she would check. She came back 5 minutes later and said that they should be on the way, but our dinner was also on its way. It took about 15 more minutes, but then our appetizers finally arrived. 25 minutes later, our dinners came out in the same way as our drinks...staggered plate by plate, with some of our group getting their dinner after everyone had almost finished eating. Our server was apologetic and offered a free dessert, to which we had to decline because we all had to get back due to babysitter constraints, etc. The cashier did take 20% off or our checks due to the issues that we had. I really was looking forward to this experience and really wanted to like Short Mtn Distillery, but this experience was far below what we hoped...

Visited the distillery today during their Sunday brunch. Upon arriving we were asked if we had reservations, we did not and I was a bit concerned. I did visit their website before planning a trip and I didn’t find any suggestions about making a reservation but it sounds like it might be a good idea.

Thankfully we were seated within about 10 minutes if arriving and we opted for the patio because it was perfect Spring weather. The waitress arrived promptly with waters and took our drink and meal orders. The drinks trickled out slowly for the four of us starting with the sweet tea and about 10 minutes later my pineapple Bellini. After another 15+ minutes we saw our waitress again when she was helping to bring drinks to another that arrived 20 minutes after we sat down and asked about the drinks. She gave an excuse about her tickets getting lost but I find that hard to believe when one of the threes drinks was brought to the table relatively soon after the order was placed.

When the food finally came they brought the two missing drinks. The food was warm at best. My burger was missing mayo (as noted in the menu) we did not have utensils until we asked twice and the two that got the French toast had to ask for syrup.

All in all the meal had potential but it’s hard to be kind when you spend an hour and a half waiting for ok drinks and warmish food. The waitress repeatedly offered us discounts when we politely brought up the concerns but those never made it to the final bill. The owner/manager(?) stopped by to check in and said they were working on the issues and explained that our waitress was young (I guess that is supposed to explain it?) then told us if we come back we could have a free tour but just said to give his name. I would never complain or comment and expect anything but if it is offered especially more than once it should be reflected on the statement. I understand she was young but so are many who staff other restaurants and I have had amazing service from those not even legal to drink.

At this time I’m pretty disappointed and given the distance to visit from my home (just over an hour) I don’t plan to return...