Butte's Spirit: How a distillery and a small town are helping each other with an Orphan Girl and a Destroying Angel

BUTTE, Montana – There is something so nice about going into a local business and being greeted like a friend. To have someone smile at you, ask you how you are doing, even chat a bit. It truly highlights the relationship between a community and local businesses, businesses like Headframe Spirits.

​Walking into Headframe Spirits’ administrative office I am immediately greeted by a black Pomeranian (Sam, as I would come to find out later), followed by a Golden Retriever puppy (Kida). Both dogs are friendly and seem very excited to see me. The dogs are followed by Courtney McKee, CEO of Headframe Spirits, greeting me as warmly as the pups. This perfectly sets the tone for what exactly Headframe is all about; being friendly and creating a feeling of community. ​To completely understand Headframe Spirits and the community that loves it, it’s best to have some understanding of the company’s hometown and focus beyond distilling, Butte, Montana.

What is a headframe?

It’s cold, gray and rainy. Looking up there is a huge, black structure silhouetted against the sky. This structure is shaped like a crooked A with latticed sides. There are stairs leading up to the top and a mechanism for what used to be an elevator at the top. This is a headframe.
They were once used to lower workers into the mines, back when shaft mining was common practice. They have been out of commission since the mining world moved on to open pit mining. Most that existed in other towns have been torn down. Not in Butte, Montana, a place once known as the Richest Hill on Earth.
The headframes dot the skyline of Butte. Each one belonging to its own mine, with its own name, its own history and its own personality. Looking at these behemoths, knowing that they no longer have a use, may be depressing. Not for the people of Butte. The headframes are a point of pride.
Rise and fall of the Richest Hill

Butte was founded in 1879 and was quickly dubbed “the Richest Hill on Earth” for the massive amount of mineral deposits beneath the town. Mine owners, later known as the Copper Kings, were drawn to the town by the financial possibilities. Immigrants coming to America to make their fortune were famously told, “Don’t stop in America, go straight to Butte!”

Butte quickly grew as did the mines. Headframes started to appear all over. There ended up being 400 mines throughout the town. Families moved to the town to be closer to the relatives that worked in the mines. A whole community started to form, focusing on the mining happening in the town.
This booming growth in Butte continued until the end of World War II. The end of the war meant need for copper and other metals started to drop. By 1983 the underground mining that had kept Butte growing for so long completely stopped. While open pit mining did continue, and does to this day, it requires fewer people and more specialized training.

Butte should have been like the many ghost towns you can find around Montana. Settlements created around mining, but dried up once the mines did. Butte should have died, but it didn’t. There are probably many economic, political or just logical explanations for this. My theory, however, is that Butte has a tough and proud community that refuses to give up.

​A great example of this proud and fierce community is John and Courtney McKee, owners of Headframe Spirits.

Unexpected benefit of being laid off

John McKee was born and raised in Butte. He used to build biodiesel refineries for a Butte-based company. However, when the economy took a downturn in 2008 the company went bankrupt. John and his 26 coworkers were all left jobless in an unkind job market. One night his wife, Courtney, asked him if he would like to look for a job in biodiesel or if he wanted to move on.

When it came down to it, John was tired of working for others. He didn’t want to have to leave Butte. He also wanted to be able to spend time on his hobby of distilling whiskey and other spirits. This train of thought naturally lead to an important question; why not open a distillery?

In the summer of 2010 the McKees started to research what it would take to start a distillery. John called manufactures of stills (the equipment that is need for distillation), to see if they had continuous stills. Distilling is usually done in a batch process. This is slow and not efficient. None of the manufactures had continuous stills. They said technology didn’t exist. John knew that wasn’t the case. Using his knowledge from his biodiesel days he developed the continuous still. Knowing their still to be faster and more efficient, John and Courtney decided that they weren’t just going to sell spirits, they were going to make and sell stills to other distilleries.

The emotion of “Spirit”

Once John and Courtney had the general idea of what they were doing, it was time to refine it. They need to decide the name of their company, there by setting the theme of their products. That wasn’t too hard for the McKees. They knew right away that they wanted their name to be about Butte.

John may have been born and raised in Butte, but Courtney wasn’t. She is from Connecticut and moved to Montana to go to college. She had never been to Butte until she met John. Courtney moved to Butte to be with John, but was not all that impressed at first.

In fact, you’ll be hard pressed to find an outsider who likes Butte from the first impression. The giant mine on the Northeast part of town and the old buildings don’t seem that pretty at first. Yet, it grows on you. It grew on Courtney in no time. “I was born to live here,” she says. Courtney believes this partially because of the people. She points out that a community coming from the danger of mining, then from the dying of the mines means they are “all on the same team.”

Naturally, Courtney and John wanted to show love for this community. They knew they wanted to name their company off the pride and joy of Butte, the headframes. They started with the name Headframe Distillery. It just didn’t quite work. It didn’t provoke the feeling of Butte in the way they wanted. Then, one day, John had a stroke of genius. How about the name Headframe Spirits?

John was mostly thinking of the fact that they would be producing spirits, as in the drink. Courtney had another connotation; spirits, as in the feeling, the emotion. Butte has its own spirit, unlike any other town. This is due partially to the mines scattered through town.

Through the name Headframe Spirits, they discovered their purpose in starting the distillery, besides selling alcohol. They were going to elevate the community. The McKees found a new way to tell Butte’s story. They started to name the products after the mines: High Ore Vodka, Destroying Angel Whiskey, Orphan Girl Cream Bourbon. They started to include the story of each mine on the bottles. As Courtney puts it, “We are using booze as a gateway to getting to know Butte.”

The love of a town

The love that the McKees have for Butte is mutual. “Butte is very proud that Headframe has made their home in Butte,” says Stephanie Sorini, Executive Director of the Butte Chamber of Commerce. The town has shown its love for Headframe even from the beginning.

Headframe Spirits officially opened their Tasting Room on February 29, 2012. This Tasting Room is a place where you can try their products straight or in cocktails. It is also in the same building where they do most of their distilling. They announced the opening simply. They posted on Facebook that one of their friends was there for the opening. This proved to be more effective than they could have predicted.

Courtney and John had been post on social media the whole process of the distillery’s opening. This had quickly caught the attention of many people in Butte. Curious about a new business in their town, people followed the distillery’s progress closely. When they saw the small announcement that the tasting room was open, they jumped on the chance to be part of this new addition to the town.

On opening day, the McKees were expecting a handful of people, mostly friends and family. This would be a good way for them to get a feel for what running the Tasting Room would be like. It would as give Courtney a chance to finish learning how to make the rest of the cocktails they have on the menu. This wasn’t the case.

The turnout for the opening completely exceeded their expectations. So much so, that John and Courtney had to call on some friends to help them tend the bar. It seemed as if the whole of Butte had shown up to show their support and partake in what Headframe has to offer.

The McKees have found a way to show their love of Butte beyond names. Headframe recently started a manufacturing plant in one of the old machine shops of the Kelley Mineyard. The Kelley is one of the many headframes still standing in Butte. This is the perfect place for the McKees to be. This is not only because the backdrop matches their labels, but because the McKees are all about community, reuse and growth. They have a $20 million plan in the works for the Kelley. They want to create a public space around the headframe. Courtney describes turning some of the old buildings into a restaurant, a distillery and an open grassy park for the town to enjoy.

Just a taste

A tasting room for a distillery is important. After all, who wants to commit to a whole bottle of something, without knowing if it’s any good? Headframe Spirit is no exception to this. John and Courtney have built on this idea by finding two things that help make a tasting room successful: it is inclusive and it is informational.

While the McKees are big believers in responsible drinking, they don’t see why those who drink alcohol should have all the fun. Headframe’s Tasting Room is non-drinker, kid, and dog friendly. The menu includes cocktails made from each of their products, but also virgin drinks, like a lavender cream soda or the Naked Mule (which is just a virgin Mule). The Tasting Room also allows dogs, any dog, not just service. They will provide the pooch with some water and even a treat. This is another way that they push for community. This way you can come to the tasting room with your child and your dog. All of you can enjoy a drink made just for you.

The bottles are not the only thing about Headframe that is meant to teach people about Butte. John and Courtney want their bar tenders to be “community ambassadors.” They have them learn as much as they can about Butte. This way if they overhear a group in the Tasting Room mention that they are looking for something to do, the bartender can make suggestions, even help them book tours.

This combination has worked. The Tasting Room is very successful. It has wide reach and interest. “Headframe Spirits is a destination place,” says Sorini. “It is where family and friends gather to drink some of the finest spirits. It brings people in from all over the state of Montana, or those travelling through always want to know where it is so they can stop and enjoy their Tasting Room.”
Small town, big advantages

As of 2016, Butte has a population of about 34,000. Not a very big town. This may be a concern to some entrepreneurs. With town that small, how can you be sure that you will reach everyone you want? As it turns out, a town this size is exactly what Headframe Spirits needed to get started.

Being in a small town means cheaper real estate. John and Courtney managed to find a perfect building for their needs. It is an old Buick dealership right in Uptown Butte. A nice building in a central location like that would have been far out of their price range had they been in a bigger town.

Not as many people in an area is not necessarily a disadvantage. A small town also means a tight-knit community. Word travels fast in a situation like that. As a result, John and Courtney had an incredible successful first day for the Tasting Room.

​Also, being in a small town doesn’t mean lack of reach. Headframe has product in over 40 states. There headway in selling it in other states with stricter liquor laws, like Utah. They sell their stills across the country and have recently started selling them internationally. Of course, this far reaching profit makes its way back into Butte via the McKees.

Headframe Spirits’ focus will always be on the community of Butte. Since they opened on Leap day they only get a real anniversary every four years. So, in 2017 they celebrated their fourth birthday that was really their first. During this celebration they didn’t congratulate themselves, they congratulated Butte. The town and the McKee’s love for it are the reasons they are there and successful. Courtney even pointed out, “We get to do what we do because people believe in us.”“Get me a Dirty Girl!”

Headframe Spirits has many popular products. Many sing praises of the Anselmo Gin or the Destroying Angel Whiskey. By far the bestselling is the Orphan Girl Cream Bourbon. Its name comes from the mine on the far side of town, whose lonesome location inspired the mine’s melancholy name. Despite the sad sounding name, the cream bourbon is almost half of all their sales in their home state of Montana and a majority of all their sales out of state.

Courtney McKee, CEO of Headframe, attributes the product’s popularity to a cocktail offered in their tasting room. It is part Orphan Girl, part root beer. It’s basically an alcoholic root beer float. People love ordering it, and not just because of the taste.

​The drink is called the Dirty Girl. Great, big bikers will come in, demanding a Dirty Girl. Little, old ladies go to the tasting room to by a bottle of Orphan Girl so that they can have a “Dirty Girl party” with their girlfriends. Parents bring in their newly 21-year-old daughters to have their first legal Dirty Girl.

To quote the Orphan Girl themed pint glasses Headframe sells, “Everybody loves a Dirty Girl.”