Review: True North Rye Vodka
True North Rye Vodka is mashed, distilled, and bottled at Grand Traverse Distillery in Traverse City Michigan. GTD also crafts a vodka made from wheat and 3 flavored vodka’s made from that wheat vodka base. Ken Rabish grew up on a small family farm in Pinconning Michigan. He opened Grand Traverse Distillery in 2005. His son Landis is the Master Distiller. Besides vodka they produce 2 gins, 9 whiskey’s, and 2 rums. All are made with local ingredients. True North Rye is a 100% straight Polish style rye vodka. It is made from rye grown on the Send Brothers farm in nearby Williamsburg Michigan. The milled rye is fermented for 3-5 days and small batch distilled on a 1200 liter copper reflux still custom made in Germany by Arnold Holstein. The 16 plate still evaporates and condenses 1600 times. The spirit is gently filtered and brought to proof with glacial water from the Great Lakes, and bottled onsite. Read more 
Review: Walton’s Vodka
Walton’s Vodka is crafted at Pennington Distilling Company in Nashville Tennessee. It was awarded a Double Gold Medal at the prestigeous San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2020. Husband and wife Jeff and Jenny Pennington established Pennington Distilling Company in 2011. It was originally called Speakeasy Spirits. They currently produce 5 varieties of Davidson Reserve Tennessee Whiskey, 4 Pickers Vodka’s, 4 Whisper Creek Tennessee Sipping Creams, Pickers canned Crafted Cocktails, and Pickers Unplugged Vodka Soda. Walton’s Vodka was named for Jenny Pickers father who built his own motorboat at the age of thirteen. It is made from red winter wheat, first pot distilled in a 550 gallon Vendome Copper & Brass Works Hybrid pot still and then a 24 foot column still. The spirit is slow drip filtered 4 times and cut with Tennessee limestone water before bottling. Read more
Review: Bayfront Vodka
Bayfront Vodka is crafted at Rogue Ales and Spirits just steps from Yaquina Bay in Oregon. Rogue Ale was founded in 1988 by three Nike Executives Jack Joyce, Rob Strasser, and Bob Woodell along with Jeff Schultz an accountant and avid brewer. They currently brew 15 varieties of beer including Dead Guy, Batsquatch, and Gumberoo. In 2003 Rogue began distilling spirits. They currently produce 4 whiskeys, 2 Gins, and Bayfront Vodka. Bayfront is small batch distilled 6 times from 100% corn on a Vendome Copper & Brass still. For every bottle sold 10% is given to their non-profit partners to keep beaches and waterways clean. Read more
Review: Bluebird Vodka
Bluebird is a true grain to glass distillery. Master Distiller and Founder Jared Adkins opened the doors of Bluebird Distilling May 2015. The distillery was built in an abandoned laundromat in Phoenixville Pennsylvania. They currently craft Bluebird Vodka, 12 whiskey varieties, 2 gins, 2 rums, and Agave Blanco. Bluebird Vodka is handmade from the finest American rye grain. It is small batch distilled using a state of the art 1000 liter, 17 foot tall, Kothe hybrid copper still built is Germany. Read more
Review: Oola Vodka
Oola Vodka is crafted at Oola Distillery. Oola is named after the German Shepard dog of Founder and Head Distiller Kirby Kallas-Lewis. Kirby founded Oola in the Capital Hill area of Seattle January 2010. The distillery also produces Gin and Whiskey. Prior to distilling spirits, Kirby worked on an Alaskan fishing boat, raised milk goats, created paintings, and sculptures while living in Tahiti, and ran an art gallery in New York City. Oola Vodka is made from locally grown wheat. It is small batch distilled on a fractional still built by Vendome Copper & Brass, and charcoal filtered once, prior to bottling at 84 proof. Read more
Review: American Yeoman Vodka
American Yeoman Vodka is crafted at Perlick Distillery in Sarona Wisconsin. The Perlick family purchased a small farm in the Northwoods of Wisconsin in 1920. Five generations have worked the land which now consists of 2000 acres dedicated to growing corn, wheat, soybeans, barley and several other crops. The distillery was established in 2014. All of their spirits are made from grains grown on their farm. Yeoman Vodka is made from an 80% wheat and 20% malted barley blend. They recently released a Maple Syrup flavored vodka blended with Grade A Maple Syrup from Compass Farms. A single malt whiskey is currently barrel aging and will be available this summer. Read more
Review: Corgi Saddlecoat Vodka
Corgi Saddlecoat Vodka is crafted at Corgi Spirits in Jersey City New Jersey. Jersey City is recognized as the most diverse midsize city in the United States. Corgi Spirits was founded in 2017 by Bob Hagemann who owns the distillery with his parents Bob and Nancy Hagemann. They currently craft 7 gins including their award winning Earl Grey Gin, Whiskey, and Corgi Saddlecoat Vodka. Corgi Vodka is small batch distilled from potatoes in a Vendome Copper & Brass Works still. The potato distilled spirit serves as the base for all 7 of their gins. The Corgi name is inspired by the owners fascination with all things British and the love of the family pet. A portion of profits is donated to local animal rescue groups, and Hudson Pride Center. Read more
Review: Copperworks Vodka
Copperworks Vodka is crafted at Copperworks Distilling Company in Seattle Washington. Co-Founder Jason Parker started brewing beer for Pike Place Brewery in 1989. He also brewed beer at Redhook, and later became the Brew Master at Pyramid Breweries. In 2013 he partnered with Micah Nutt to open Copperworks. Micah is the Co-founder and the Distiller. They currently also craft whiskey and gin. Copperworks Vodka is made with malted barley, locally grown in Washington. 80% of the malted barley is sourced from small local independent growers. The spirit is fermented with a pure strain of brewers yeast and fermented in a hand hammered 25 plate copper column still built in Scotland, then bottled unfiltered. Vodka distilled from malted barley is significantly more expensive than corn, wheat, or potatoes. The $38 a bottle price reflects this cost. Is Copperworks worth the premium price? Read on. Read more
Review: LA Vodka
LA Vodka was launched September 2022 in California. Co-Founder and CEO Yasar Chaudhary worked with the most experienced and knowledgeable Master Distillers handcrafting LA Vodka. It is made in California from 100% winter wheat and double distilled on a custom copper pot still made in France. The spirit is minimally carbon filtered before bottling. While a specific distillery is not mentioned I know one in Ukiah California that has been crafting spirits since 1983 with a custom copper pot still made in France. Read more
Review: Black Band Vodka
Black Band Vodka is crafted at Black Band Distillery in Peoria Illinois. They also produce a Gin, Bourbon, Rye, Whiskey and Coffee Liqueur. Peoria was once hailed the whiskey capital of the world. Prohibition ended that. Peoria native and principal distiller Chris Ober began studying Peoria’s history of distilling and researching different distillation and fermentation processes in 2006. He acquired a century old building in the historic warehouse district of Peoria in 2017. Construction began in 2018. In 2020 whiskey production began. Black Band Distillery opened their doors the Spring of 2021 and now includes a farm to table restaurant and cocktail bar. Along the way Chris attended courses on distillation at Kothe Distillationstechnik, and Siebel Institute of Technology for Craft Distilling. He also worked a one on one apprenticeship with Master Distiller Robert Birnecker at Kovel Distillery in Chicago. Black Band Vodka is crafted from 100% Warthog wheat on a 5000L Kothe Hybrid Still. Read more