WHY HIGH BANK?

When Ohio forged plans for the state capital, the area known as Franklinton was a primary consideration due to its close proximity to the water and pre-existing infrastructure. After much consideration, they concluded the risk of flooding was too great. On February 14th, 1812, the state legislature accepted plans to lay out the capital, now known as Columbus, on the High Bank, opposite Franklinton, at the fork of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers. We take the same uncompromised approach when selecting each ingredient to create every plate of food, crafted cocktail, and bottle of High Bank spirits.

From March 24 to 27, 1913, Columbus was hit with its worst flood. The flood killed at least 93 in Columbus, and stranded dozens more in their homes. The area most affected was Franklinton, also known as the Bottoms, for its low elevation near the Scioto River. Among many infrastructure projects, a 7.2-mile floodwall was built from 1993 to 2004 to protect most of Franklinton from future flooding.

 A question that we receive most frequently is how did High Bank Distillery Company come to be?  What was the journey leading up to the creation of the company, and who is behind it? While the story from start to finish would be quite lengthy and in some parts a bore, we will keep this concise.

 High Bank Distillery Company was founded by four partners and Columbus residents, the founding fathers if you will. These four founders are comprised of Jordan Helman, Adam Hines, Calvin Jones, and Jeff Ireland. Adam Hines and Jordan Helman began the working relationship between their two companies (States of Design & Zest Juice Co.) in 2014. Around this same time, an idea between the two of them started to brew. While they both had a passion for craft beer, forming another brewery in the already well-populated Columbus beer market seemed a risky venture. As with many bearded men in their early 30s, hop heads if you will, they did not limit their palates to only beer, and decided to focus their energy on their next love, whiskey! It was this passion for whiskey and other spirits that the two decided to open a micro-distillery in Columbus, Ohio with the intention of making great spirits that they would be proud to have featured on any bar shelf in America. From there the history of High Bank Distillery company consists of budgets, permits, and all the things we promised not to bore you with. Over the past four years, the team was completed as the joining of the final two partners was finalized. Today each of our “founding fathers” has their own unique role in running the distillery and we wouldn’t have it any other way.