John McKee is the owner and founder of Headframe Spirits; Butte’s first (legal) distillery that opened its uptown doors in 2012. His journey is as tasty as the whiskey he brought us to enjoy during our recording.

As a typical Butte kid, John played on mine dumps and brought home liquid mercury that bubbled up through the streets. This ‘Butte grit’ led him to an attempt at playing high-level rugby in Tennessee. When he arrived back in his hometown, he began noticing mine waste being cleaned up. Noticing barren yellow rock piles now green with life, he saw his community forging its own path out of a challenging era – a realization he’s working toward still. So when a career venture in expired butter went upside down and being a kept-man wasn’t the option he hoped for, the idea came up of possibly making booze. He was all in.

John talks about the struggles of finding financing, to a point where his family became concerned about having enough food. When the 13th bank finally took a chance on the dream, it was off to the races.

Headframe Spirits launched with a vision of fusing community, history, and vision one bottle at a time  …all because of some bad butter. Who would have thought? 

Of all the places, John calls Butte, Montana home.

Learn more about Headframe Spirits visit www.headframespirits.com