Marshall Miles Interviews Chris Weld of Berkshire Mountain Distillers and Phyllis Webb, Co-Founder of Magic Fluke: Sheffield as a Destination Town with Independent Local Shopping, Restaurants, Art and Culture

Established in 2007, Berkshire Mountain Distillers (BMD) has created a line of award-winning artisanal spirits including Greylock Gin, Ethereal Gins, Ragged Mountain Rum, Ice Glen Vodka, Berkshire Bourbon and New England Corn Whiskey, currently available in 19 different states.

All products are handcrafted in small batches in Sheffield, Massachusetts at the Berkshire’s first legal distillery since prohibition. BMD is one of the founding members of the craft distiller movement and is embraced by several of the nation’s leading mixologists. Our products have received numerous high accolades including Gold Medal Awards from the Beverage Tasting Institute and San Francisco Spirits Competition and national praise from publications like GQ, Details, New York Times, Wine Enthusiast and Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible. As supporters of local agriculture and business, BMD uses regional materials in many of our products, creating a truly authentic, artisanal brand. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Chris Weld – Founder, Owner and Distiller

Chris grew up in Westchester County, New York and had an early interest in distilling. In the 8^th grade, he tried to make his own still for a class science project, but the plan was squashed by his mother when she realized it was a federal offense. He turned his interest in putting things together by studying biochemistry as an undergraduate with a focus on medicine and the environment, going on to receive his Master’s Degree in emergency medicine. He embarked on a twenty-year career as a Physician’s Assistant in one of the busiest emergency rooms in the San Francisco bay area. Looking for a slower pace and longing to return to his East Coast roots, Chris, his wife Tyler, an architect, and their family moved to the quiet countryside of Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts.

The Magic Fluke Co. was started by Dale and Phyllis Webb in 1999 in the basement of our home in New Hartford Connecticut.

I was inspired and encouraged by Phyllis’s brother Jim Beloff, an accomplished musician and guitarist who discovered the ukulele a few years earlier. Jim realized anyone interested in playing the uke back then had very little to choose from in the way of available music or instruments and in 1992, he incorporated as Flea Market Music and released the first of many music books and videos.