Neat. On the rocks. Double. Dirty. Two fingers…or four. Whatever spirit you fancy and however you like it crafted, it’s on the menu at Four Finger Distillery, formerly known as 1205 Distillery.
Nolan Hudson, owner and operator, and his lifelong buddy Brad Colver, have built the new Lebanon location from the ground up. “Blood, sweat, tears and pinky” is a phrase you might hear thrown around on a Saturday night if you happen in for some cocktails, tacos and live music. The building is brick and unassuming on the outside, but walk in and you will find copper, metal, burnt-wood floors, and a bar made out of repurposed materials from the Hudson and Colver’s own hands. But the best part is that the whiskey is as good as the facility is beautiful.
Hudson and Colver have a long history in the spirits industry, with Hudson’s family owning Fountain Square Brew Company and Colver having fine-tuned his craft at a distillery in Colorado. Their paths fortuitously came together again, and this is when the magic happened. They started serving cocktails in a storage unit, added in some live music and their business savvy, and the rest is history. They were popular with the downtown crowd and just couldn’t keep up with the demand. That’s how 1205 Distillery, now Four Finger, was born. Some of the very best things are built by accident.
So how did this place get its name? Hudson and Colver pride themselves on their own blood, sweat and tears being poured into each location (they have locations in Westfield and downtown Indy as well). Colver was working on opening the Westfield location back in 2014 and made a bad cut while installing a door, losing his pinky finger. The unfortunate story quickly became legend, and the play on words – Four Finger – resulted.
Each distillery is curiously different, just in case you think you shouldn’t visit all of them. The Westfield location only serves spirits (dogs are welcome). The downtown Indy location has crafted cocktails as well, as well as local favorite Greek’s Pizzeria. The new Lebanon location will be family friendly and serve up Gordito’s tacos (which is currently located in the Fishers Test Kitchen).
Six signature cocktails will be served at all three of the distilleries, and each will have cocktails specific to each location. One consistent find in all locations is quality. Don’t miss the Boone County Smash signature cocktail – a mix of vodka, rhubarb liquor, lemon juice, simple syrup and fresh mint.
“We make all of our award-winning spirits in house with local, Indiana grain,” Hudson says.
For more info, go to fourfingerdistillery.com.
