Van Buren County Still in the Game

Van Buren County is getting wetter by the minute.

Last week we reported on two package liquor stores that are in the works, thanks to voters who approved an initiative to “go wet” in November. (See Legal Alcohol Sales Push Up Revenue in Van Buren County.)

And the county is also getting its first distillery.

The first legal one, anyway.

Sandro J. Lukanovic was granted a conditional permit last month by the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Division. His Doberman Ranch Distillery on Waller Road has a Bee Branch mailing address but is closer to the Sulphur Springs community.

Lukanovic told Whispers that he plans to make fruit brandies — “peach, apple, grapes” — using a still he is importing from Bosnia and techniques his grandfather used to make brandy in Europe. Other distilleries in Arkansas “are all corn liquor,” he said. “Brandy is totally different.”

While there’s a structure on the site, Lukanovic has been waiting for the permit before building a new one, which he said will cost about $200,000. His best-case scenario to begin production is six months, he said recently.

“It’s going to happen, but I don’t think that soon.”