Dripping is for Business

Frog Pond Distillery, maker of gin and vodka, is Dripping’s newest adult beverage maker. “We are a family owned business, no investors, so you could say my wife, son, and I literally put ourselves into our product,” coowner Allen Lloyd said.

Frog Pond Distillery is named after the road its on, just east of downtown Dripping Springs off 290, and it considers itself as much a destination as a manufacturer of adult spirits. “For our business model, we consider ourselves as much a tasting room, as a maker of gin and vodka. We chose Dripping Springs because we saw similar businesses opening up, and became excited at becoming a part of a region that produces so many craft spirits, beer, and wine,” Lloyd said. “We invite visitors to enjoy our products on the wrap-around porch that overlooks our hillside.”

Visitors have a choice of either unflavored vodka or gin. “Both our vodka and gin are made of the same corn-based alcohol, but the gin is our real passion-- we flavor it with four botanicals. Botanicals, in gin parlance, are the herbs and spices that are used to flavor gin. Our final choices were juniper, coriander, bitter orange peel and angelica root. It took me dozens and dozens of small batches as tests to get it right, and produce the gin we make today,” Lloyd said. “People should know that we are a small batch producer. Quality is important to us. I was a hobbyist for many years before starting Frog Pond Distillery.

The Lloyd family chose Dripping because of the region’s growth as a destination spot, and because of the friendliness. “When we went out looking for places to start our distillery, we chose Dripping because everyone, including the city government, was very welcoming—as opposed to Austin,” Lloyd said. “My wife and I are sort of project types. We were looking around for the next best thing for us to get into, and this was one idea we had. The idea also coincided with the change in the state laws that allowed us to sell bottles from our own tasting room.”

The Lloyd’s new Dripping neighbors should know that the family comes from an education background. “My wife, Amy, is a retired school principal. My son, Stephen, is a high school tutor at Austin ISD, and I’m a genetics professor at U.T., “ Lloyd said.

Frog Pond Distillery is located at 261 Frog Pond Lane and is open Fridays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. for tastings, cocktails, tours, bottled sales, and porch sitting. Their phone is (512) 657-7977, and more information can be found at frogponddistillery.com .

Frog Pond Distillery will be making its community debut at the upcoming Dripping with Taste. “We invite people to come and say hello to our family. We are very excited about meeting our new Dripping Neighbors,” Lloyd said.