In 2020, Nora Ganley-Roper and her husband, Adam Polonski, launched the independent whiskey bottler Lost Lantern, using space at Village Garage Distillery in Bennington to blend and bottle whiskey sourced from craft distilleries around the U.S. This month, the couple, who live in Ferrisburgh, have moved all of their barrels to a dedicated blending and bottling facility in the Kennedy Brothers building at 11 Main Street in Vergennes. They hope to open a tasting room in September, Ganley-Roper said.
Lost Lantern follows what Ganley-Roper described as the Scottish tradition of curating and blending whiskey distilled by others. “We never plan to be a distiller,” she said.
The company’s growth has been fueled by $1 million from investors, including Shelburne-based FreshTracks Capital. Its single-malt, bourbon and rye whiskeys sell for $70 to $160.
Ganley-Roper, who grew up in the Middlebury area, said Lost Lantern’s Vergennes move represents a “full Addison Country 360” and the Kennedy Brothers space is a perfect fit. “We have a full, vibrant business nationally, and we were looking for a place in Vermont,” Ganley-Roper said. “I want to put down roots here.”
The roughly 3,600-square-foot space was formerly occupied by Shacksbury Cider, which moved in 2020 to a 45,000-square-foot building at 75 Meigs Road, behind Kennedy Brothers. Shacksbury closed its tasting room in the Kennedy Brothers space in March 2020 due to the pandemic. Company cofounder Colin Davis said he and his business partner, David Dolginow, hope to open a new tasting room in their current location this fall.
This article appears in Aug 16-22, 2023.
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