Terry Kirts
It may not seem like the home of Hamilton County’s hippest new cocktail spot, with a counseling center and a barber shop just next door. Follow the signs to the corner of the spacious red-painted brick building mere feet from Main Street in downtown Westfield, however, and you’ll see what all the buzz was about this past weekend. Fletcher Place’s 1205 Distillery, popular for its easy-drinking gin, whiskey, and rhubarb liqueur, officially opened its second location.
Operating partners Brad Colver and Nolan Hudson weren’t exactly planning on expanding their liquor enterprise. Carmel High grads themselves, they were fine with just the one smaller production facility and tasting room that fills most weekend nights with regulars and visitors stopping in for a flight of their signature spirits. After Visit Hamilton County Indiana approached them to collaborate on the official cocktail of Hamilton County in early 2019, things changed.
The cocktail, a straightforward sipper made with the distillery’s New American Gin and rhubarb liqueur dubbed the Hamilton Smash, got the distillery some northside notice, and the city of Westfield approached Hudson and Colver about moving into a building the city was using for storage. The partners put a plan together, and while the buildout took longer than expected, the locals this past weekend were clearly happy that the wait was over for 1205’s signature affordable cocktails.
Metal rings from barrels are strung with lights and dangle from the ceiling. Curved staves decorate the walls. Burnt-wood fixtures and bar tops, some made from wood found on site, give a sleek yet rustic look to the new spot, which will eventually get a wraparound patio with plenty of outdoor seating. A vintage typewriter and comfy lounge furniture help to complete the look, which manager Lisa McCord Ellis says came about organically, with less of a theme in mind.
Ellis says the lounge will focus mainly on the drinks, with occasional food trucks and special events, as well as delivery available from nearby restaurants. And while a Hamilton Smash seems like the perfect drink choice for the new spot, many of the more popular mixers have been imported north as well, including the Hickory Husker with wheat whiskey and maple syrup, a solid Old Fashioned with Four Finger Rye, and the Giggle Water, with Artisan vodka, 1205 rhubard liqueur, and ginger beer that, as the name says, will likely have you belting out a few laughs before the evening is through. 1205 Camilla Court, Westfield, 317-439-4997
