Gulch Distillers highlighted as part of state ag investment program

HELENA — On a sunny and bright St. Patrick’s Day in downtown Helena, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte stopped at Gulch Distillers for a tasting and to highlight the state’s Growth Through Agriculture grant and loan program.

March is National Agriculture Month and the state program, created in 1987, provides grants up to $50,000 and loans up to $100,000 for projects that “add value to Montana’s agricultural products,” according to the program’s guidelines.

Gulch Distillers used the program to expand out of a small tasting room and operation to a larger one closer to the center of Downtown Helena. They received a $25,000 grant, which requires matching funds, through the program that was announced, along with 24 other in-state businesses, in March of last year.

“Montana is a tremendously entrepreneurial state, and we love celebrating entrepreneurs wherever they are,” Gianforte said after touring the distillery. “Small businesses like this are the backbone of our economy and particularly because it’s National Ag month, we wanted to celebrate someone who’s using Montana ag products to serve the public.”

Gulch’s  liquor offerings are all made with Montana products — barley, wheat and rye — with the sole exception of sugarcane used for rum. That’s important, said Steffen Rasile who, along with Tyrrell Hibbard, owns the business. 

He added the distillery began as a bit of a side project that’s now turned into a full-scale business.

“Tyrell (Hibbard) and I were just cocktail enthusiasts and we thought we could make spirits,” Rasile said. “We went down that path and we’ve developed a number of products that we’re really proud of.”

The spirits enthusiasts have concocted a number of creations, including a Burrone Fernet that has won multiple awards, including at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2023.

The tasting room is open from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.,Monday through Saturday, at 4 W. Lawrence Street, and shares a wall with one of the city’s most popular downtown establishments, the three-headed combo of Old Salt Co-op, Gold Bar and the Western. It’s a warm and inviting tasting room, complete with a long bar.

Many of the city’s other popular businesses and attractions are a short walk away from Gulch Distillery, including the Last Chance Gulch walking mall.

That change in location has been huge, Hibbard and Rasile told Gianforte during a tour of their distilling location. 

“It’s made us more visible and we get more traffic in the tasting room,” Hibbard said during the tour, adding the state program was helpful in pushing their business forward.