North Whitehall farmer wants to build new craft distillery

Lehigh Valley patrons could enjoy a new distillery with locally grown crops if a North Whitehall Township farmer gets legal approval for her project.

Farmer Heather Skorinko and her husband Kenneth want a special exception to build a 2,400-square-foot craft distillery with a tasting room for customers, according to township documentation . They’d build the distillery at 1990 Neffs Laurys Road.

Heather Skorinko, who owns Suyundalla Farms in the township, said her farm would grow crops such as rye, wheat and barley which distiller Michael Dombrosky would then convert into different types of whiskey along with vodka, rum and fruit brandy.

“We want [customers] to learn to appreciate a handcrafted beverage … [and] to start to enjoy the ‘field-to-glass’ concept and the farm, and the peace and quiet that most farms have to offer,” Skorinko said.

Along with selling alcohol directly from the distillery, she said they’d go to local restaurants and bars for them to use the products.

During a meeting on Wednesday that saw a couple dozen attendees, the township’s zoning hearing board listened to some of Skorinko’s testimony about the project as part of considering the special exception.

However, due to the lack of quality sound system, attendees had difficulty hearing each other speak during the hearing, so the zoning hearing board paused and postponed it to a future date.

The meeting took place at the Schnecksville Fire Department Banquet Hall as the township municipal building undergoes renovations.

Before the meeting adjourned on Wednesday, resident Ken Walters asked the zoning hearing board to deny the proposed distillery, as he was concerned for if the distillery could disrupt residents’ lives such as by bringing in outsiders “whose main purpose is to buy and consume alcohol.”

“Would you want this business across the street from your home?” Walters said.