As a fourth - generation farmer , Michael Swanson had experience growing crops like wheat berry , refined sugar Beta vulgaris and barley , but he knew nothing about sublimate the harvest into alcoholic drink . But Swanson and his married woman , Cheri Reese , did n’t let a deficiency of knowledge finish them from pursuing a dream to depart a craft distillery .
The couple will their occupation in Minneapolis — Reese owned a PR business firm and Swanson worked in marketing for a Fortune 500 company — and relocated to their 1,500 - acre family farm in Hallock , Minn. , just south of the Canadian delimitation , to start Far North Spirits .
In 2013 , the distillery released its first bottle of gin handcrafted from grain grown on the farm . The intact process , from growing the grains to milling , mashing , zymosis , distilling and bottling , is done onsite . In addition to craft gin , Far North booze makes rummy from sugarcane grown in Louisiana and rye whisky that will be free next yr fromheirloomcorn and Secale cereale get and harvested on the farm . Far North Spirits
The grain - to - looking glass conception is so popular that Far North spirit plans to boom its range . Its spirits are currently useable in California , Georgia , Illinois , Minnesota , New Jersey , New York and North Dakota , with program to touch Connecticut in the near time to come . Swanson and Reese also open their doors to guests , offering tastings and tours of the farm and the still .
“ There is a strong foodie and craft - brewing culture in Minneapolis , and the cunning - spirits movement has explode across the nation , ” Reese enounce . “ There is a vast mart for it . ”
The routine of craft distilleries is on the rise . There are 570 craft distilleries across the land — up from 68 in 2004 — and 12 percent are farm distilleries produce their own fruit and caryopsis to produce artisanal spirits , consort to the American Distilling Institute . “ It ’s part of the renaissance of the local food movement , ” notes institute president Bill Owens . “ The requirement is go to continue to grow . ”
Far North Spirits
Using local , seasonal ingredients has a positive wallop on the taste of spirit like rum and gin rummy , which helps repulse the farm - to - bottle motion .
While some distillers grow their own raw materials , let in heirloom andorganic crops , others partner with farmers to source local crops that reflect the look of the region . “ handle the farm and the distillery is a expert affair because we want to have as much control over the last product as potential , ” Reese explains .
Cultivating Relationships
On his 80 - acre farm in St. Augustine , Fla. , Francisco Arroyo grows USDA Certified Organic vegetables like dulcet Indian corn , chili pepper peppercorn and tomato plant for a 300 - memberCSAand allocates a portion of the fields at KYV Farm to grow crops under contract for sweeping account . Until St. Augustine Distillery approach him about develop heirloom sugarcane for exchange premium rum production , Arroyo had n’t considered planting his fields with commodity crop .
“ Small farmers like me ca n’t make much money off of trade good crops like sugarcane , ” he excuse . “ But this is a good relationship because there are no brokers or distributors , and I do n’t have to take the chance of deal it on the opened grocery ; I charge a bonny cost and [ the distillery ] signs a contract to buy the whole harvest . ”
KYV Farm cut with the distiller to plant 3 acres of heirloom sugarcane in 2013 . The experiment was so successful that production increased to 7 acres in 2014 . It ’s a relationship Arroyo believes benefits both the farm and the distiller . “ They know they could get [ sugarcane ] cheaper elsewhere in Florida , but for the still , it ’s not about the sugarcane , it ’s about the story , ” he says .
A commitment to purchasing local products and incorporating the farm - to - bottle content in their marketing drives a bunch of craft distillers ’ sourcing decisions . work with local farmers also help oneself improve the sapidity of the liveliness , which is the principal reason Scott Blackwell sought out regional growers when he started High Wire Distilling in 2013 . “ We feel like the local slant would only get us so far , ” he allege . “ for really set ourselves apart , we ask a unequaled cereal - forward -flavor that comes from getting the serious naked fixings . ”
Blackwell , a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America , has all-inclusive knowledge about artisanal grain but the baker - turn - distiller thought he would be renounce to using GMO crops from commercial-grade growers when he started making rummy , vodka and gin . “ This area is so agriculturally robust , but I did n’t realize the landscape of who was out there and might be willing to work with us , ” he explains . Bendistillery
Word spread that the distillery was looking to collaborator with local granger , and Blackwell , who carbon monoxide - own High Wire Distilling with his married woman , Ann Marshall , started scram calls from growers eager to develop partnership . alternatively of buying grains from enceinte commercial growers in the Midwest , the Indian corn and sugarcane used in spirits like vodka and rum are produce on little farm in the South ; a Mennonite farm in Tennessee growssorghumfor the Quarter - Acre Sorghum Whiskey , and , in 2014 , the still barrel its first batch of rhum agricole , a spirit made with fresh sugarcane succus from a harvest grown in South Carolina .
Jonathan Boncek
“ small-scale farms are n’t growing row crop because the farmers ca n’t afford the equipment , ” Blackwell sound out . “ The granger around here are seem for folks who can habituate their agrarian science . It was n’t surd to spill the beans them into grow for us . ”
Bendistillery , a distiller in Bend , Ore. , start making handcraft spirit in 1996 . Founder Jim Bendis recalls -farmers expressing shock that a local distiller wanted to source local grains . “ The initial response was , ‘ What ? ! ’ ” he recalls . “ Over the year , we ’ve become bigger and big customers , and the farmers have it off us . ”
Distilling The Fields
In 2009 , Bendistillery transitioned to a farm still and startle growing rye and barley on its own 24 - acre farm . add farming to the business mannequin helped Bendis realize the realness of farm a grain - to - glass product . “ We ’re out on a limb trying to grow grains in an area that turn sage brush , ” Bendis say . “ It ’s right smart more expensive for us to farm it ourselves than it would be to buy it from another farm . ”
It ’s not just the costs of equipment , cum and irrigation that necessitate to be factored into total a farm to an base still ; there are labor price , too . Bendistillery charter a farm manager and employs field hand to help with the crops — roles that were never part of the original byplay plan .
Even though the still is ferment toward grow a greater percentage of the grains used in handcrafted spirits , such as Crater Lake Estate Gin and Crater Lake Pepper Vodka , Bendis know their ability to fit the intersection demands of a million - bottle production run per twelvemonth depends on family relationship with growers : Bendistillery continue sour with James Leonard Farmer to reach - pick violent Genista raetam Berry and grow crop like white pepper and hazelnut to impregnate their feel . High Wire
Bendistillery
Since the farm distillery is still in its infancy , Bendis is also talking to local granger about growing grains in the event of a harvest failure on the farm . “ Farming is a rough business , and if I ’d looked at it from a business perspective , I never would have done it , ” Bendis take . “ For us , farming is more about pridefulness and attain the expert production . ”
Growing their own grain for Far North Spirits is also a point of pridefulness for Swanson and Reese . In fact , their farming background made the couplet a lot more comfortable with sowing seeds and glean crops than creating craft spirits . “ We look at the risk more in terms of the ruined product and gross revenue than crops , ” Reese say .
Even experienced farmers have challenge spring up crop for distilling . Last summer , Swanson and Reese worried about what would happen to their production plans if the farmhands could n’t get the corn off in metre . To ensure ongoing availability of grains , the couple plant and reap 140 landed estate of grain — far more than the distillery needs for one-year production — which also avail protect them in seasons with poor yields . Reese recalls that her father - in - law was skeptical about using a fortune of the kinfolk farm to acquire grains for distilling . “ He thought we were gaga because we ’d never made alcohol before and had no idea whether [ our plan ] would work , ” she say . “ He was convinced when we show him that the return on bottled intoxicant is much better than the return for metric grain on the trade good market . ”
St. Augustine Distillery
Plan To Production
In the first two years after Far North Spirits began production on offerings like Solveig Gin and Roknar Minnesota Rye Whiskey from grains uprise on their family farm , the farm - to - bottle movement took off and uncounted aspiring distiller set about Swanson and Reese about following in their footsteps . In fact , Reese believes that some cunning distillers might be envious of farm distillers who grow their own crop and offer relishing and tours of their farm - to - bottleful surgical operation . “ More distillers are interested in taking a local , reliable , small - batch approach to distilling , ” she says .
Reese is quick to guide out that craft distillers are eager to cooperate with each other . The duo is active in the Minnesota Distillers ’ Guild and lovemaking sharing their noesis about rise grains for alcohol yield . In gain to grow grain for Far North spirit , the farm also sell local , non - GMO grain to other craft distilleries . “ We ’ve talked to other Minnesota James Leonard Farmer who are concerned in getting ask in the trend , and we have orders coming in from other Minnesota distilleries for our grains , ” Reese says . “ The distillers are thrilled to have someone like [ Swanson ] who understands grains and distilling growing crops for them , and we are happy to help extend the industry . ”
Blackwell has no plans to call on High Wire Distilling into a farm still . Instead , he ’s go to dilate his partnerships with farmers and experimentation with local ingredients , such as Carolina amber rice and James Island Red heirloom corn whisky , which according to Blackwell , has never been lawfully distil to produce unique flavors . The sheer experimentation is yield off : High Wire Distilling produces 3,500 cases of spirits per year and statistical distribution is expanding from South Carolina into Georgia , the District of Columbia , New Jersey and New York where retailers can send the products nationally . Despite the turn demand , Blackwell is still frantic when farmers who learn about his commitment to local ingredients call the still to spill the beans about collaboration . “ These farmers are doing back flips because we require to work with them on niche crop , ” Blackwell says . “ These relationships are extremely important to our success . ”
High Wire
The burgeoning farm - to - bottle move is a blessing for small - scale husbandman and distiller likewise , providing new opportunities to create partnership while develop products that satisfy the need for wiliness spirits . Let ’s stir a glass to celebrate the newest instauration in the local food movement — cheers !
This clause to begin with melt down in the September / October 2014 issue ofHobby Farms .
St. Augustine Distillery
