PORT ARTHUR, Texas — There are more than 130 distilleries across the state of Texas. The new one that opened its doors on Procter Street in Port Arthur is the city's first distillery.
Clifford Distilling wants to bring whiskey and rum recipes straight to consumers.
“The customers, they are just so excited that we have in our backyard, very own distillery,” Clifford said.
Sean and Wendy Clifford opened their distilling business a week ago bringing the first-ever distillery to Port Arthur.
“So, I learned from my grandfather, and he learned from his grandfather's grandfather, so it's something in our family up in East Tennessee that we've always done,” Sean Clifford said.
Clifford Distilling offers three varieties of whiskey and two rums. This distillery was created through Sean Clifford’s love of Texas history and the military.
After Sean Clifford turned his dream into a reality, he helped someone else do the same.
“This guy came by every week during construction, if not twice a week. ‘Are you ready to hire,’” Sean Clifford said.
Jared Prevost is the guy who was determined to get hired.
“I mean, he didn't know me from a can of paint, a guy coming off the street, just you know, looking for a job and he offered me a career opportunity,” Prevost said.
Prevost said he always wanted to cook whiskey and is thankful the Cliffords brought the opportunity to Port Arthur.
“I always loved to cook up, been cooking since I was a kid and it's just like an extension to that,” Prevost said.
Clifford also pours into local artists by giving their artwork a temporary home.
“Whenever we have tours go back, we can actually say show them some of the artwork, and it's for sale,” Clifford said.
While Clifford opened his own doors, he also vowed to continue to open doors for others.
“We made a promise to them that we were going to hire from Port Author city limits. So we're putting people back to work,” Clifford said.
Clifford distilling is open Tuesday through Saturday. Sean said if you stop by, you'll be able to get a tour of the distillery.