8 Shires Coloniale Distillery sits along Williamsburg’s historic Merrimac Trail, bringing craft spirits to Virginia’s colonial heart. Founded by Mark Henne, a former pharmaceutical executive who traded lab work for barrel aging, the distillery opened its doors in 2013 after years of recipe development and navigating Virginia’s complex distilling regulations. The operation runs out of a converted industrial building that Henne transformed into a working distillery complete with copper stills and aging rooms. They focus on bourbon, rye whiskey, and rum, drawing inspiration from colonial-era spirits that would have been common in 18th-century Virginia.
Henne’s journey into distilling started as a hobby that got serious fast. After years in the pharmaceutical industry, he found himself fascinated by fermentation science and began experimenting with small-batch recipes in his garage. What started as weekend tinkering evolved into a business plan when friends kept asking where they could buy his spirits. The transition wasn’t smooth—Virginia’s licensing process took nearly two years, and converting the Merrimac Trail building required extensive renovations to meet distilling regulations. Henne handles much of the production himself, from mashing to bottling, keeping batches small and quality focused.
Visitors get a genuine look at small-scale distilling in action. The tasting room feels more like a workshop than a polished tourist destination, which works in its favor. You can see the stills from the bar, smell the mash cooking, and usually catch Henne or his small team in the middle of production. The focus is clearly on the spirits rather than elaborate tours or fancy cocktails. It’s the kind of place where you learn something about the actual distilling process rather than just sampling products.
