Couple Opens On-Farm Distillery

2013 - Volume #37, Issue #6, Page #09

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A few years ago, Mike Swanson and his wife, Cheri Reese, were like many big city couples, immersed in jobs and riding out a tough economic climate. “We were doing okay,” Mike says, “but our heart was set on doing something different at our farm.”
  As they contemplated different ideas, Mike enrolled in classes at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. There, while completing his MBA, he wrote a business plan for a distillery.
  “My professor liked the idea so well he encouraged me to make it happen, so that’s what we’re doing,” Swanson says. In the fall of 2013, the couple will brew their first batches of whiskey, gin and rum from their on-farm distillery known as Far North Spirits. “Our goal is to use the skill and knowledge we’ve acquired over the years to create a field-to-glass farming model, a concept that dates back to the time my great grandfather Gustav settled his farm in northern Minnesota,” Mike says.
   As they planned, organized and developed the business model over 3 years, the couple learned that having an idea is the easiest part of starting a business. Swanson first had to learn how to operate a distillery. He did that by studying books, attending conferences and training with distillers in Wisconsin, Chicago and Denver. After arranging financing, gathering permits and lining up a distributor, they started construction on the 9,000 sq. ft. distillery and tasting room in the spring of 2013. “We’re about 25 miles from Canada and less than that from North Dakota,” Swanson says with pride. “We’re the northernmost distiller in the United States.”
  Late in the fall of 2013 they’ll begin producing three Scandinavian-themed spirits called Solveig Gin, Ålander Spiced Rum and Roknar Rye Whiskey. Within the first year, they hope to produce about 4,700 cases of spirits. Gin and rum will roll off the bottling line in November, followed by whiskey, which requires a longer aging process.
   “The basis for distilling is cooking, and I’ve always loved that, so this has been a great adventure,” Mike says. He personally experimented with different ingredients and different formulations to develop their first spirit formulations. His college degrees in biology and chemistry have helped him understand the distilling process and how to produce quality products. Swanson and Reese say their company will be one of only 5 U.S. distillers to grow their own ingredients. They produce corn, barley and rye on their farm. They will ship in other ingredients such as sugar cane from a family relative in Louisiana, lemons, juniper berries and botanicals. The couple’s farm is surrounded by an endless expanse of cropland that may eventually produce grains for their distillery if they need it.
  “We’re basically right in the middle of our raw material,” Swanson says, “and that definitely is an economic advantage.” Although Far North is geographically a long way from highly populated areas, they’ve lined up a distributor to deliver their custom-formulated and cleverly named spirits into the Midwest marketplace. “There’s a demand for new, unique and high-quality craft sprits at liquor stores, bars and restaurants where local and sustainable products are promoted,” says Swanson. They hope to join other companies from the region such as Polaris, Arctic Cat, Marvin Windows, Steiger and Bobcat who started small and eventually grew into strong and popular brands.
   Swanson says they’ll have close to $1.5 million invested in their business before the first spirits are produced, but he’s confident of success. Cheri, who handles the website and marketing, says, “We’ve had great, positive feedback and are excited to get our first spirits out the door.”
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mike Swanson, Far North Spirits, 2045 220th Ave., Hallock, Minn. 56728 (ph 612 720-3738; Mike@farnorthspirits.com; www.farnorthspirits.com).

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Couple Opens On-Farm Distillery FARM HOME Food A few years ago Mike Swanson and his wife Cheri Reese were like many big city couples immersed in jobs and riding out a tough economic climate “We were doing okay ” Mike says “but our heart was set on doing something different at our farm ” As they contemplated different ideas Mike enrolled in classes at the University of St Thomas in St Paul There while completing his MBA he wrote a business plan for a distillery “My professor liked the idea so well he encouraged me to make it happen so that’s what we’re doing ” Swanson says In the fall of 2013 the couple will brew their first batches of whiskey gin and rum from their on-farm distillery known as Far North Spirits “Our goal is to use the skill and knowledge we’ve acquired over the years to create a field-to-glass farming model a concept that dates back to the time my great grandfather Gustav settled his farm in northern Minnesota ” Mike says As they planned organized and developed the business model over 3 years the couple learned that having an idea is the easiest part of starting a business Swanson first had to learn how to operate a distillery He did that by studying books attending conferences and training with distillers in Wisconsin Chicago and Denver After arranging financing gathering permits and lining up a distributor they started construction on the 9 000 sq ft distillery and tasting room in the spring of 2013 “We’re about 25 miles from Canada and less than that from North Dakota ” Swanson says with pride “We’re the northernmost distiller in the United States ” Late in the fall of 2013 they’ll begin producing three Scandinavian-themed spirits called Solveig Gin Ålander Spiced Rum and Roknar Rye Whiskey Within the first year they hope to produce about 4 700 cases of spirits Gin and rum will roll off the bottling line in November followed by whiskey which requires a longer aging process “The basis for distilling is cooking and I’ve always loved that so this has been a great adventure ” Mike says He personally experimented with different ingredients and different formulations to develop their first spirit formulations His college degrees in biology and chemistry have helped him understand the distilling process and how to produce quality products Swanson and Reese say their company will be one of only 5 U S distillers to grow their own ingredients They produce corn barley and rye on their farm They will ship in other ingredients such as sugar cane from a family relative in Louisiana lemons juniper berries and botanicals The couple’s farm is surrounded by an endless expanse of cropland that may eventually produce grains for their distillery if they need it “We’re basically right in the middle of our raw material ” Swanson says “and that definitely is an economic advantage ” Although Far North is geographically a long way from highly populated areas they’ve lined up a distributor to deliver their custom-formulated and cleverly named spirits into the Midwest marketplace “There’s a demand for new unique and high-quality craft sprits at liquor stores bars and restaurants where local and sustainable products are promoted ” says Swanson They hope to join other companies from the region such as Polaris Arctic Cat Marvin Windows Steiger and Bobcat who started small and eventually grew into strong and popular brands Swanson says they’ll have close to $1 5 million invested in their business before the first spirits are produced but he’s confident of success Cheri who handles the website and marketing says “We’ve had great positive feedback and are excited to get our first spirits out the door ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Mike Swanson Far North Spirits 2045 220th Ave Hallock Minn 56728 ph 612 720-3738; Mike@farnorthspirits com; www farnorthspirits com

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