Review: Saint Lawrence Spirits Vodka
Saint Lawrence Spirits Vodka is crafted in a restored 1937 manor home over looking the Saint Lawrence River in Clayton New York. Besides a distillery the property includes a farm to table restaurant and boutique hotel. The journey started in 2006 when army veteran Jody Garrett and his wife Doreen purchased the 2000 acre Lucky Star Ranch in Chaumont New York. Several years later Jody and his son Bill enrolled in Moonshine University. The father and son team opened the doors to their distillery August 2016. Saint Lawrence Spirits Vodka is made from corn and wheat grown on their family farm and purified water from the Saint Lawrence River. The spirit is distilled in a Vendome Copper and Brass Works still. The spent mash from the distilling process is returned to the ranch to feed their Black Angus Cattle. Saint Lawrence Spirits also produces whiskey, bourbon, gin, absinthe, and moonshine and in 2019 they were named New York States Distillery of the year. Read more 
Review: American Liquor Co. Vodka
American Liquor Co. Vodka was released in 2020. The brand was founded by William Brumder, Michael Slapp, and Chris Montana. Chris Montana Co-Founded Du Nord Craft Spirits with his wife Shanelle in Minneapolis in 2013. Du Nord was America’s first black owned distillery. L’Etoile Du Nord Vodka was the first spirit they created. It was made from locally grown sugar beets and corn and first released May 2014. Du Nord Craft Spirits was burned to the ground in the George Floyd protests. They are in the process of rebuilding the distillery in a different location. American Liquor Co. Vodka is made from a blend of six vodkas distilled from four grains distilled at six different Midwest distilleries. This includes wheat vodka from Midwest Spirits in Columbus Ohio and Stumpy Spirits in Columbia Il. Rye Vodka distilled by Grand Traverse Distillery in Grand Traverse Michigan and Valentine Distilling in Ferndale Michigan. Corn vodka produced at Yahara Bay in Fitchburg Wisconsin. Finally potato vodka distilled by Proof Artisan Distillers in Fargo North Dakota. The vodkas are blended at Temperance Distilling Co. in Temperance Michigan. Read more
Review: Timberline Vodka
Timberline Vodka was released April 2021. It is made from a balance of grain, 14 different varieties of non GMO Pacific Northwest apples, and glacier fed spring water from Mt. Hood. Timberline is distilled with 46 levels of purification in a dual column 2000 liter pot still at Clear Creek Distillery in Hood River Oregon. Hood River Distillers acquired Clear Creek in 2014. While they are best known for their craft brandy, Clear Creek also produces McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt Whiskey. Timberline Vodka is bottled at 80 proof with three different collectable canvas labels reflecting their commitment to the great outdoors. These labels feature a hiker, snow goose, and skier. Timberline is a proud partner of the freshwater trust, a non profit whose mission is to preserve and restore freshwater ecosystems in the western US. Hood River Distillers also makes Big Gin, and imports Batanga Tequila. Read more
Review: ROCK’N Vodka
ROCK’N Vodka was created by Andy Roinotis, Isabelle Roinotis, and Denny Trakas. It is made from Non GMO Sugarcane at Rush Creek Distillery in Harvard Illinois. They have since partnered with Rock and Roll HOF member and lead guitar player of Cheap Trick Rick Nielsen. It was created in 2019. Currently there are only 38 sugar cane distilled vodkas in the entire world. We have reviewed 9 of these and while the flavor profiles vary all have been quite tasty. Read more
Review: Starlight 31 Stars Vodka
Starlight Vodka was released June 2014. It has since been rebranded to Starlight 31 Stars Vodka. 31 takes its name from their distilled spirits plant number DSM-IN-31. Stars bring recognition to their home, Starlight Distillery. In 1843 Simon Huber emigrated from Baden-Baden Germany to settle in Southern Indiana. Through the years the family farm has grown to 600 acres. In 1938 a dairy barn was built. In 1978 they redesigned the dairy barn and opened their winery. In 2000 they obtained a license to distill on the farm. Beside vodka they currently produce several whiskeys, gin, rum, brandy, and grappa. 31 Stars is crafted by Co-Owner and Master Distiller Ted Huber from heirloom corn. The corn is grown, milled, mashed, distilled and bottled by the family on their farm. It is small batch distilled 7 times on an 80 gallon custom Christian Carl Copper Pot Still hand crafted in Germany. Read more
Review: Kennay Farms Vodka
Kennay Farms Vodka is made from 100% corn grown on the Kennay family farm. It is crafted in a historic former theatre in downtown Rochelle. The Hub Theatre opened as an art deco style theatre in 1931. It took over two years to renovate the theatre. This distillery also makes gin and whiskey. The corn is produced, milled, and distilled by a family member. The Kennay’s are 6th generation farmers. The vodka is produced on a Vendome Copper and Brass Works still with 20 distillation plates. The spirit is carbon filtered prior to bottling. The bottles logo represents the strong women of the Kennay Family. Read more
Review: J Carver Vodka
J Carver Vodka is one of two vodka’s crafted at the J Carver Distillery in Waconia Minnesota. The other vodka, Lake House is made from a blend of rye, corn, and wheat. J Carver Vodka is made from locally sourced winter wheat grown in Glencoe Minnesota and pure limestone filtered water. The spirit is distilled in a custom copper double column still built in Germany. This local farm to glass distillery produces all of their spirits onsite. Their other crafted spirits include whiskey, gin, brandy, aquavit, and liqueurs. J Carver was named for Minnesota explorer Johnathan Carver. Carver is also the county in Minnesota where their spirits are crafted. The distillery was founded in 2012 by Bill Miller. His brother Matt Miller was a distiller for Catskill Distilling Company in New York. Read more
Review: Down East Vodka
Down East Vodka is made from a unique strain of organic wheat grown on a fifth generation family farm in Paxton Illinois. The three Glazik Brothers, Dallas, Clayton, and Will have partnered with Stumpy Spirits Distillery in Columbia Illinois to craft their spirit. The brothers haul 2.5 tons of their own grown wheat to Stumpy’s and they process the grain into vodka. The process takes 3 weeks and when complete the brothers drive down and bottle the vodka and return with it to Paxton Illinois. The Down East name comes from the wheat fields being located east of their farmstead. Clay Glazik designed the bottle with a Silver Tree Logo, a tribute to their Irish heritage. Read more
Review: Skaalvenn Vodka
Skaalvenn Vodka is one of four spirits hand crafted at the Skaalvenn Distillery in Brooklyn Park Minnesota. The others include Skaalvenn Rum, Habanero Rum, and Aquavit. They also bottle a bourbon but that is distilled in Indiana. Tyson and Mary Schnitker started distilling in 2015 and have grown the business significantly since opening. They now also operate a Japanese Cocktail Bar serving craft cocktails made from their craft spirits. The Skaalvenn name is actually a Norweigen greeting which translates to “Cheers friends” in English. Skaalvenn Vodka is made from locally grown wheat. When they started crafting their spirits they knew they wanted to make their vodka from wheat but they had trouble finding a source so they placed an add in Craigslist. Fourth Generation farmer Scott Lee responded and after touring his family owned Lee’s Seed Farm in Benson Minnesota they knew they had found their local source for wheat. After harvesting, the wheat is milled and delivered to the distillery where they mash and ferment the wheat and yeast for three days. The spirit is distilled in two different stills including a custom copper still. The vodka is carbon filtered before hand bottling. Read more
Review: Tattersall Vodka
Tattersall Vodka is crafted from certified organic corn harvested at their Head Distillers family farm on the rolling plains of Southeastern Minnesota. After harvesting the corn grown at Four Sisters Farm in Rochester Minnesota, the corn is milled at Anderson Farms in Cambridge Minnesota. The spirit is small batch distilled six times in their Vendome Copper and Brass Works column still and triple filtered. The spent grain is used as livestock feed. Vodka is one two dozen spirits currently distilled at the Northeastern Minneapolis distillery Dan Oskey and Jon Kreidler founded in 2014. They recently opened a second distillery in River Falls Wisconsin. Read more