8 Craft Spirit Makers Who Are Bringing Back History
Yahoo Food is partnering with Barnraiser, a crowd-funding site that helps raise money for farmers and food entrepreneurs. Each week, we’ll feature a story which highlights the mission of Barnraiser: to put a billion dollars into the hands of food innovators as they reshape a healthy food world. This week we’re featuring Barnraiser’s roundup of ten of the best small batch spirit makers from around the US.
We’ve found artisanal, small batch spirit makers relying on old methods, recipes and stories to bring old world spirits to modern day!
1. Art in the Age - Philadelphia, PA
@artintheage (8,201 followers)
The Goods: The signature line is made up of four distinctive organic spirits, ROOT, SNAP, SAGE, and RHUBARB. Their Test Kitchen is at Tamworth Distilling, a partner on limited releases, like their garden infused spirits.
The History: Their signature spirits are steeped in history. ROOT is the Native American ‘Root Tea,’ the original root beer. RHUBARB and SAGE are traced back to Founding Fathers Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, respectively. SNAP is the ginger snap of the Pennsylvania Germans in the late 1600’s. As AITA explains of its ROOT, but which clearly applies to the lot, “It’s a genuine experience rooted in history and our own landscape.”
2. Coulter & Payne Farm Distillery Union, Missouri
@coulterandpayne 1,052 followers
The Goods: This farm produces possibly “the most locally sourced and terroir whiskeys available worldwide.” For the precise drinker, there are three varieties of bourbon and four whiskey options, including Ozark and Appalachian.
The History: These spirits are thoroughly local products. For proof; the 100% Non-GMO grains are grown in the fields, the water comes from a natural spring, and the wood for the barrels, “some of the best in the world,” comes from the Ozarks Mountains, under 50 miles away. No additives pollute their small batches: the farm uses sustainable methods and the whiskeys are made without coloring, sugars, or flavors.
3. Belle Isle Moonshine Richmond, VA
@BelleIsleShine 1,037 followers
The Goods: A Premium Moonshine, made with 100% organic corn, meant to be “an approachable spirit that can be enjoyed by itself, with the most exotic mixers, or with the simplest of ingredients.” Comes in three iterations, including the intriguing Honey Habanero.
The History: Belle Isle is the birthplace of the world’s first premium moonshine. Belle Isle Manufacturing, an early supplier of the railroad, started making copper kettles during the civil war. As the story goes, when bourbon production was banned to provide southern soldiers with corn rations, it created “a perfect scenario of excess corn, copper kettles, and a need for spirit.”
4. Du Nord Craft Spirits Minneapolis, MN
@DuNordCS 1,477 followers
The Goods: Tackling artisan gin, vodka, and bourbon, this “grain to glass” distillery controls every aspect of production, giving them the freedom to experiment. Their project to “discover ‘Minnesota’s Gin’” resulted in Fitzgerald, “the first gin to be chosen by its consumers” through open voting. Also, their unique L’etoile Vodka, the first to combine sugar beets with corn, earned them a Triple Gold Medal for flavor in 2014.
The History: As Du Nord explains, “During prohibition, Minnesota was a top producer of whiskey for the speakeasy’s and gin joints in Chicago. Minnesota moonshiners were so good at hiding their operations that the military sought their help in wartime to help hide military equipment. We, of course, are much more transparent, but we are proud to continue the tradition of Minnesota farmers turning their perishable grain into quality spirits to get through a long winter.”
Related: Holiday Cocktail Recipes With Small Batch Liqueurs and Syrups
5. Bully Boy Distillers Boston, MA
@bullyboybooze 4,834 followers
The Goods: They handcraft whiskey, vodka, and rum in small batches, preserving artful distillation in Boston. Enter their Hub Punch, “a historic Boston tradition…originally concocted at the Hub Hotel.” Rum infused with fruits and botanicals, “Bully Boy consulted a variety of historical accounts of Hub Punch to craft a spirit that pays homage to the traditional recipe and spirit of the pre-prohibition era Boston.”
The History: What a story! The owners, a pair of brothers, were inspired by their fourth-generation family farm, which housed artisan spirits during Prohibition. When these were discovered 70 years afterwards in a secret vault, the brothers wanted to continue the rich history of craft spirits. They named their distillery after “Bully Boy, a favorite farm workhorse. Will and Dave’s great-grandfather named his beloved horse using a term coined by his college roommate Teddy Roosevelt – “Bully” – meaning superb or wonderful.”
6. Greenbar Distillery Los Angeles, CA
@GreenBarDrinks 1,478 followers
The Goods: Boasting the biggest portfolio of organic spirits, they use certified organic ingredients to produce 4 brands of carefully crafted vodka, gin, tequila, whiskey, and rum. Additionally, they make specialty FRUITLAB liqueurs, a Grand Poppy aperitive, and collaborated with bartenders to create a series of Bar Keep Bitters.
The History: Originally named Modern Spirits, Greenbar has been approaching their craft spirits with a decidedly modern creativity for over 10 years. As an LA Weekly review explains, “Greenbar not only represents the inevitable post-modern response to the spirit industry’s throwback obsession — it’s pioneered it.” Their unique flavors are a result of layers of herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables, a base for quality craft cocktails.
7. Bayou Rum Lacassine, LA
@BayouRum 1,251 followers
The Goods: Four varieties of rum; all made in a traditional copper pot using 100% natural unrefined Louisiana cane sugar and molasses. It’s handmade in the largest privately-owned rum distillery in the US.
The History: They rely on their authentic “sugar house” recipe. Authentic, indeed; the tradition extends back to the 1700’s, when “rum making in Louisiana paralleled the advent of sugar making in Louisiana.” Sugarcane emerged in Louisiana’s fertile soil along the Mississippi after crops in the Caribbean began to decline.
Have a small batch spirits or food project idea? Tell us about it!
8. Cardinal Spirits Bloomington, IN
@CardinalSpirits 1,837 followers
The Goods: They produce high quality whiskey, gin, vodka, rum and liqueur by sourcing the best local ingredients and following their carefully honed process. One of their seasonal spirits is Bramble Black Raspberry Vodka, a product of fruit from Bloomington’s farmers’ market and their own farm-grown organic hibiscus.
The History: Like many artisan distilleries, they were motivated to return to the ‘quality over quantity’ mentality that separates craft from commercial. In addition to creating a business that values people, and community, over profits, they also explain that “the word manufacture is from the Latin ‘manu factum’: made by hand. That’s what we were craving - being able to hold something in our hands and say ‘I made this from scratch, and it’s amazing’.”
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