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The Northernmost Estate Distillery in the Contiguous United States
Miles from everywhere and perched atop Minnesota’s Red River Valley, Far North Spirits stands apart as a true estate distillery — where the craft of whiskey begins in the soil. Founded in 2013 by fourth-generation farmer and head distiller Michael Swanson, our distillery is built on a remote, century-old farm of jet-black soil once fed by the ancient waters of Lake Agassiz.
Rewriting the Origin story
We believe whiskey is more than just aged grain spirit. It is an expression of place, climate, and heritage. Just as wine reflects its grape varietals and terroir, whiskey reveals its soul through the grains it’s made from.
While most distilleries buy anonymous, commodity grain from a supply chain optimized for volume, we grow every bushel ourselves. We cultivate single varietal rye and heirloom corn, not for yield, but for flavor. That’s a radical move in an industry where grain is treated like a neutral input — something to be fermented and forgotten.
We select open-pollinated varietals for their distinctive character when distilled. Our AC Hazlet Winter Rye explodes with warm spice and rich vanilla. Our Oklon Rye surprises with smoke and earthy nuttiness. Each grain is grown in the glacial soils of an ancient lakebed, under prairie skies that shape its strength and structure. Then we mill, ferment, distill and age it — all on-site — without losing sight of the field where it came from.
This is whiskey with provenance. Whiskey with intention.
Whiskey farmed for flavor.
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Fourth generation farm
The Red River Valley Swanson farm has been continuously farmed by Swansons since 1917. It is a thousand acres of jet-black, abundantly rich soil that produces exceptional rye and heirloom corn. Built in 2013, the distillery sits on what was once a wheat field.
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Single estate spirits
The northernmost distillery in the contiguous United States, Far North Spirits makes premium, heritage spirits inspired by Minnesota’s character and agricultural abundance. Located just 25 miles from the Canadian border, we are one of only a handful of estate distilleries nation-wide to also grow our own grains.
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Regenerative agriculture
All grains except malt barley are grown by the distiller within a mile of our distillery, and stored in bins on site. This eliminates the need for both the shipping and bagging of grain. After distillation, spent grains are picked up by an area cattle farmer for feed or spread on nearby fields. Because most of the starch has been consumed during fermentation, the high protein levels of spent grains make them an excellent fertilizer. In addition, cellulose is left behind after fermentation and distillation, this adds organic matter back to the soil, improving its health.
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