|
WHO: |
Far North Spirits |
||
| BUSINESS TYPE: | Farm to Glass Spirits | ||
|
SIGNATURE PRODUCTS: |
Rye Whiskey, Bourbon Whiskey, Gin |
||
|
WHERE: IN-PERSON: WEBSITE: |
Hallock Tasting Room Open Weekends |
By Michelle M. Sharp, Founder and Content Creator of Meet the Minnesota Makers
The founding of America’s only certified Bee-Friendly Farm Distillery began with a homework assignment. Cheri Reese and Mike Swanson, owners of Far North Spirits, were living in St. Paul following careers in marketing and communications. Mike was pursuing an MBA from the University of St. Thomas 
where his entrepreneurial class project included a business plan for a distillery that grew its own grain.
“The night he turned it in he received an email from his professor telling him what a great idea it was,” Cheri recalls. “This reinforcement gave us permission to run with the plan.”
If You Build It…
A few years later, Cheri and Mike moved to his family farm in Minnesota’s Red River Valley where the Swansons have farmed since 1917. There, they planted rye and corn in the midst of longstanding wheat, soybean, and canola fields. They also built a distillery. Cheri and Mike found a warm welcome after living away from the area for 20 years. People were excited about their vision. “Sometimes it feels like that scene from Field of Dreams where they plowed the corn under to build the baseball field,” says Cheri of the distillery they named Far North–a tribute to its remote location 25 miles from the Canadian border.
It’s unique enough for a distiller to make spirits using locally-sourced grains but for that maker to grow the grain themselves is extremely rare. Only a handful of farm distilleries exist in the U.S. As the head distiller and the fourth-generation farmer, Mike and Far North Spirits grows, mills, mashes, ferments, distills, and ages its whiskeys entirely on the family farm. “What we’ve done for rye whiskey is what vintners once did for wine — proved that varietal matters,” says Mike. “The seed is the key to a whiskey’s soul.”
To develop the best rye for their whiskey, Far North partnered with a small-grains specialist at the University of Minnesota. “The professor helped 
us select 15 different rye seed varieties for our rye study,” says Cheri. “We grew them in one-acre test plots and distilled the grains. Then we taste-tested the varieties with about 200 people from all over the country. The study helped us definitively answer ‘yes’ to the question: ‘does the rye variety alone affect whiskey’s flavor?'”
Sustainable Pursuits
But Far North’s pursuit of incredible spirits doesn’t stop there. Their commitment to agriculture also includes certified, sustainable farming practices that promote soil health and ecological diversity. “There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors in this business,” says Cheri. “We actually grow the grain and distill it ourselves. We know our grain and have chosen it intentionally. Mike has developed a nationwide reputation as the rye guy. That’s where we’re making our mark. We’re changing the conversation about how whiskey is made.”
Far North’s estate model eliminates nearly all grain transport and is supported by regenerative farming practices, including pollinator-friendly habitat certification. The research data has been shared with academics and industry leaders at conferences, and the model is replicable by any distiller working directly with growers.
Read the full article and enjoy Far North’s signature “The Farmer’s Handshake” cocktail in Volume 8 of www.local-feast.org/magazine
Accolades
In February 2026, Far North has been named the first-place winner of the 2026 DISCUS Innovation Showcase, presented by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) and sponsored by Spearhead Global.
Far North earned the top prize — a $10,000 cash award, one year of DISCUS membership, and a complimentary booth at the next DISCUS Annual Conference — from a competitive field of six finalists, selected for its development of Single Varietal Rye Whiskey, a first in American whiskey. Finalists were evaluated through a “Shark Tank”-style process by a panel of spirits industry judges and peers. Far North was chosen for the depth of its research, demonstrated market impact, and the potential of its innovation to reshape how the entire industry thinks about raw materials.
Get in Touch
Visit farnorthspirits.com to plan your visit to their tasting room or choose which spirits you’ll enjoy at home. Follow Far North Spirits on Facebook and Instagram.
Visit meettheminnesotamakers.com or follow @meettheminnesotamakers on Facebook and Instagram as well as Ambit and LinkedIn to discover the small business owners that make Minnesota an amazing place to be! Meet the Minnesota Makers is a news site that connects you to the local food, farms, artists and artisans that make Minnesota thrive.
