About Painted Stave Distilling

Delaware’s first standalone craft distillery since before Prohibition occupies the old, single screen Old Smyrna Theatre. Painted Stave Distilling, and their award-winning craft spirits, celebrates Delaware’s furtive history, renewing a bygone era in Smyrna for contemporary times.

As most good things do, Painted Stave Distilling got its start over a couple drinks. Separately, founders Ron Gomes Jr. and Mike Rasmussen each had plans to open a distillery in Delaware before they had met. They were taking wildly different approaches. Ron’s plan focused on the business plan and connections, while Mike was focused on the equipment and technique behind distilling. They pooled their methods together and, in 2011, and founded Painted Stave Distilling.

Their Candy Manor Gin is named for a piece of local lore centered around a candy shop that doubled as a brothel after hours. Painted Stave’s line of Diamond State Whiskeys also draws inspiration from Delaware’s clandestine history. Diamond State was the name of the last whiskey distillery in Delaware before Prohibition.