A pop-up liquor store is selling small-batch spirits in Philly and bypassing the PLCB

Look closely at what’s on the shelves of the new liquor store on 18th Street, two blocks from Rittenhouse Square: No Tito’s, no Jack Daniel’s, no New Amsterdam. Not even Fireball.

But there are bottles of gin from Delta Dirt, bourbon from Woody Creek, and single-malts from Copperworks and Cedar Ridge — none of which had been available anywhere in Pennsylvania before last week.

BOTLD — a new pop-up store at 119 S. 18th St. as well as an e-commerce site offering free shipping in Pennsylvania — bottles and sells spirits that cannot be found in Fine Wine & Good Spirits’ inventory, even on the special-order list.

BOTLD bypasses the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s monopoly on wine and spirits sales, which tends to exclude smaller distillers that may not have the scale, distribution, and resources to get into its catalog.

Behind the venture is Andrew Auwerda, a pioneer in Pennsylvania spirit-making, who in 2005 cofounded Philadelphia Distilling, known for Bluecoat Gin. He left in 2021, before the company was sold.

Through revisions to Pennsylvania’s liquor code under Act 39 of 2016, in-state limited distilleries may bottle and sell spirits directly to the public, restaurants, and bars. The spirits can be distilled anywhere, but must be bottled under the limited-distillery license.

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BOTLD, which has a limited-distillery license, is arranging partnerships with distilleries that send spirits in totes and barrels to BOTLD’s facility in King of Prussia, where Auwerda and his four associates bottle, label, and sell the spirits. The King of Prussia location will become a bottle shop, as well.

Let’s take Catoctin Creek, from Purcellville, Va. “You’d think they’d be available here,” Auwerda said.

“They have plenty of fans here, but they’re not. They’ve tried many times to get through the normal system and have been rejected. This is a way for them to fill out their map.” BOTLD sells three rye whiskeys from Catoctin Creek, priced from $45 to $90 a bottle. Auwerda said he follows manufacturers’ suggested retail pricing.

BOTLD also bottles and sells Sweet Blend vodka by Delta Dirt ($29), from Helena, Ark. “We’re in the business of promoting unique aspects of these different distilleries, right?” Auwerda said. “This is a Black family that grows their sweet potatoes and makes their own vodka. We need more Black businesses in distilling and so for us to promote them is a great thing.”

As one of the first entrepreneurs to venture into Pennsylvania distilling since Prohibition, “I’ve been in their shoes,” Auwerda said. “When I was building the Bluecoat brand, I’d wonder, ‘How do you get traction in a market when you don’t know the best restaurants, you don’t have inside connections, you don’t have friends, you don’t know the media?’ For these brands to partner with us, they’re entrusting me to not only represent their brand by bottling it, labeling it, and selling it, but also market it and present it to people.”

The labels and bottles are identical to those used for the spirits bottled at their distilleries.

The idea for BOTLD predates the pandemic. At the time, Philadelphia Distilling was working with another craft distillery, FEW Spirits of Chicago. Auwerda asked the owner to send him totes of bourbon and rye. “I said, ‘We’ll bottle it here at Philadelphia Distilling so we can offer it in our tasting room, and my friends can try your brand.’ So we did an intercompany purchase. We bottled it. Same packaging on the bottom, though instead of ‘Bottled in Chicago,’ it says, ‘Bottled in Philadelphia.’ ” They started selling it.

When COVID-19 hit and the PLCB closed its stores, Auwerda said, Philadelphia Distilling went from doing $1,000 a month in e-commerce and direct consumer business to $800,000 in May 2020.

Auwerda said other Pennsylvania distilleries bring in spirits produced outside the state, but they bottle it under their own brand names and sell it directly to consumers and the PLCB. One Tier LLC, the corporate name of BOTLD, is not producing its own now.

For those unfamiliar with the brands he sells, BOTLD offers tastings. “It’s the opportunity to get ‘liquor to lips,’ ” he said. “Particularly in the craft side [of spirits], that’s really critical because if you can’t try it, you’re likely just going to buy something you already know.”