Traverse City Distilleries: Grand Traverse Distillery
A Traverse City Tradition
Back in 2007, before the microbrew boom became what it is today, Kent Rabish opened a micro-distillery in Traverse City. The operation was the first of its kind in Michigan, and in an area dominated by vineyards and wineries, the idea to open a micro-distillery was truly unique. Kent’s vision of establishing the centuries-old tradition of family owned distilleries with a Northern Michigan twist was ambitious, to say the least. But sampling their various vodkas, whiskeys, rums and gins will prove that Kent’s vision has come to fruition.
High-Quality Spirits, Locally Made
One thing you’ll learn from a tasting experience at Grand Traverse Distillery is their strict attention to quality. Quality has been the mantra for the staff since the operation’s inception. Almost a decade later and nothing has changed. In order to meet these demanding aims, the team use locally sourced rye from right here in Northern Michigan. Rather than turn to mass production, and thus a lower quality product, the team have remained dedicated to focusing their efforts on one small, hand-crafted batch of spirit at a time.
While you can view their complete spirit list here, we want to highlight one of their most popular offerings in the blog post. Obviously, being the oldest distillery in Traverse City obliges Grand Traverse Distillery to produce a cherry vodka that puts all other cherry vodkas to shame. To make the True North Cherry Vodka, they distilled True North Vodka thirty-seven times with a cherry essence and then blended a touch of chocolate for good measure. If you haven’t tried this spirit, there’s not a better reason to add Grand Traverse Distillery to your tour!
Add Grand Traverse Distillery to Your Wine or Brewery Tour
Another reason to add these guys to your tour is the convenience of having many tasting locations. On a Traverse City brewery tour in downtown Traverse City? Be sure to swing by their tasting room on Front Street. You can also take a tour of their production facility, located on Three Mile Road, just a few miles south of the beach and hotels on East Bay.
If your beer or wine tour takes you to Leelanau County, be sure to stop by their tasting room in Leland. Located in historic Fishtown, their Leland tasting room is an incredibly unique addition to any Leelanau tour.
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