Your guide to (almost) all the distilleries in Michigan.
Michigan Distilleries are killing it. Journeyman’s Corsets, Whips, and Whiskey won whiskey of the year at the 2022 ASCOTS (they’re in good company . . .), Two James is making a name for themselves in Detroit, and Coppercraft is holding their own on the west side of the Great Lake state.
You may think of Michigan as the state that stops Canada from invading, but there’s more to the Wolverine state than its ceaseless bravery. For years, I went to Fish Camp with my buddy Dave in order to spend a lot of money to sit in a boat and not catch fish, which is a hobby of mine. We’d spend three days cruising Lake Hamlin in a pontoon boat (Dave won’t let me call it a barge), pretending like we know what we’re doing so that we could have lunch at a lakeside bar dive bar and smoke cigars. You know, bliss.
Our reward was not fish, that’s for sure. It was the sheer joy of being in Michigan at the beginning of summer. The quiet satisfaction of building a fire on the shore at sunset and just kicking back. The overwhelming generosity of the entire state’s natural splendor and the unbelievable hokey charm of small lakeside towns. It’s like Alabama without the heat or rebel flags (well, not as many).
I had no idea it was loaded with whiskey.
But it is. Just like your mom at nine in the morning, Michigan is loaded. There’sBeing based in Chicago, All American Whiskey has a soft spot for Midwest distillers, so look out for more master lists like this one from Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Indiana.
Meanwhile, here’s the list to end all lists of Michigan distilleries.
The Master List of Every Michigan Distillery
AMERICAN FIFTH SPIRITS
bourbon | malt whiskey
Michigan distillery, American Fifth, makes bourbon and malt whiskey. They opened in the stadium district of Lansing in 2015 and offer a tasting room with cocktails and, I assume, decent parking.
American Fifth Spirits
112 N Larch St. Lansing, MI 48912
COPPER KETTLE DISTILLING COMPANY
flavored sour mash whiskey
Copper Kettle operates a Michigan distillery and tasting room in an adorable log cabin on the shore of Houghton Lake, almost dead-center of Michigan’s Upper Penninsula. It’s a fantastic business position as they’re equidistant from all the taverns, bars, and restaurants lining the shores of the U.P. They make a sour mash whiskey from, according to their labels: grain and cane. Since they make a lot of rum, I kind of wonder what this whiskey is like. . . it has a pirate skull on the front so I assume it hurts.
Copper Kettle Distilling Company
939 West Houghton Lake Drive
Prudenville Michigan
COPPERCRAFT DISTILLERY
bourbon | rye | straight whiskey | whiskey blends
Coppercraft was named Michigan Distillery of the Year in 2018. In 2022 they won gold in the San Francisco Spirits Competition, just as they had in 2019. They’re small batch, blue collar, and dedicated to making solid whiskies.
Coppercraft Distillery
340 Water St
Saugatuck, MI 49453
DETROIT CITY DISTILLERY
bourbon | rye | whiskey
Detroit City Distillery takes a lot of pride in their grain-to-glass production. Look at the listed sources for the mash bill for their Bloodline whiskey: Winter Wheat from Washtenaw County, Barley and Malts from Kent County. Their products are pick-up only at their tasting room (address below). Besides their dedication to local sources, I have to give kudos to their label designer. These are brilliant labels.
Detroit City Distillery
2462 RIOPELLE
DETROIT, MI 48207, USA
DREXEL SMALL BATCH SPIRITS
blended whiskies
Drexel has some balls. Their blended whiskies have won several awards, and that’s great but their audacity is in two of their offerings. The first one is Irbon, with carefully sourced Irish whiskey and American bourbons finished in sherry casks. That’s just crazy. But they get crazier with Dock & Castle, Scotch and Bourbon finished in a cognac cask. Just what the hell, Drexel? Please send me some.
Drexel Small Batch Spirits
Somewhere in Detroit.
EASTERN KILLE DISTILLERY
michigan straight bourbon | michigan straight rye
Eastern Killed gets their water from the great lakes, makes their whiskey in small batches, and ages it at least two years in new, charred oak barrels. They’ve got a tasting room and do cocktails to go.
Eastern Killed Distillery
700 Ottawa Ave NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
ANN ARBOR DISTILLING COMPANY
bourbon | rye | michigan whiskey
Ann Arbor Distilling Company is a grain-to-glass distiller putting out a range of products, including Bourbon, Rye, and Michigan Whiskey. They also make Absinthe Violette which may be the coolest non-whiskey spirit I have encountered.
Ann Arbor Distilling Company
220 FELCH ST.
ANN ARBOR, MI 48103
ETHANOLOGY SPIRIT HOUSE AND DISTILLERY
white whiskey
American Fifth makes bourbon and malt whiskey. They opened in the stadium district of Lansing in 2015 and offer a tasting room with cocktails and, I assume, decent parking.
Ethanology
127 Ames St., Olds
Elk Rapids, Mi 49629
GRAND TRAVERSE DISTILLERY
bourbon | rye | flavored whiskies
Grand Traverse Distillery’s origin story is pure Americana: grandpa had still hidden in the barn turning excess grain into white lightning. Decades later, his descendants are running a thriving distillery and turning out excellent whiskey.
Grand Traverse Distillery
Traverse City | Frankenmuth | Mackinaw CIty
GULL LAKE DISTILLERY
bourbon
Grand Traverse Distillery’s origin story is pure Americana: grandpa had still hidden in the barn turning excess grain into white lightning. Decades later,
Gull Lake Distillery
92 E. Michigan Ave
Galesburg, MI
HIGH FIVE DISTILLERY | GYPSY VODKA
blended rye
Yeah, the fly a flag with vodka on it and they make various spirits, but High Five also makes a blend rye whiskey. Their tasting room and distillery is in the U.P. just off Lake Michigan in the lovely town of Petoskey.
High Five Spirits / Gypsy Vodka
312 Howard Street
Petoskey, Michigan 49770
IRON FISH DISTILLERY
whiskies from michigan grains
These guys are my heroes. They are making amazing whiskey from grains brought back into production by the Michigan which Iron Fish grows on their farm. Listen to the names of these grains, it’s like poetry: Iron Fish Jupiter winter wheat, Whispering Meadows Ranch organic corn, Great Lakes Malting Co malted barley, and Upper Penninsula Belsoda Farms rye. They turn some of their profits toward funding the reemergence of indigenous fishes and I want to marry them.
Iron Fish Distillery
14234 DZUIBANEK ROAD
THOMPSONVILLE, MI
IRON SHOE DISTILLERY
whiskey
Iron Shoe Distillery is the best small batch distillery in Michigan, a fact supported by their homepage where the following is listed: “best distillery, best Michiana restaurant, best cocktails, best burger, best bar, best french fries, best vegetarian, and best bartender, Allie Batson.” They make blended bourbon in small batch runs and I get the impression not every bottling is exactly the same—in a good way.
Iron Shoe Distillery
3 North 3rd Street
Niles, MI
JOURNEYMAN DISTILLERY
bourbon | rye | American single malt | white whiskey
Full disclosure, I am in love with Journeyman’s Last Feather rye. I have a constant battle in my mind over which rye is best and Journeyman has been winning for a long time. It doesn’t hurt that they were named 2022 Whiskey of the Year by Fred Minnick. It doesn’t hurt that their head distiller, Bill Welter, is, perhaps, a genius. None of it hurts. It all heals. Go there and chip putt on their Scottish putting green, Welter’s Folly. Also, read our interview with Mr. Welter.
Journeyman Distillery
109 Generations Drive
Three Oaks, MI
LES CHENEAUX DISTILLERS
whiskey
If you visit this distillery please let us know as it is FAR AWAY. It’s on the Lake Huron side of the Upper Penninsula and then it’s on the top side of that, the (oh god) the (hrrrngh) Canadian side. Might be why their name is French.
Les Cheneaux Distillers
172 S. Meridian St./P.O. Box 126
Cedarville, MI
LONG ROAD DISTILLERS
wheat whisky | straight rye | straight bourbon | straight American whiskey
Long Road is the first distillery in Grand Rapids. Ever. They have several locations (Grand Rapids, Grand Haven, Cadillac) and more awards than I am willing to type here. Literally an entire page of awards. These guys are doing something right. I am willing to forgive their spelling of whisky sans /e/ since I’m sure there’s a good story there. I mean, there’d better be.
Long Road Distillers
537 LEONARD ST NW
GRAND RAPIDS, MI
Yes, there are more. This is a post in progress.
There is no recognized definition of Michigan whiskey like there is for Tennessee whiskey. It’s pretty much any whiskey made in Michigan.
I assume that it was a copy error to put the description for American Fifth in the Ann Arbor Distilling Company description. There are any number of Wolverines that may take issue with such an editorial solicism. Not that it’s very difficult to tell the difference: one is green and white and the other is MAIZE and blue. Obviously Ann Arbor understands grain…
AAAAAAAHHHHHH! How did that slip by? Thanks for letting us know, Mr. Shaw. I hope the fix meets your approval. Th
Great recovery. I wish my errors were so easy to correct…
Great recovery! I wish my errors were so easy to correct.