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Casey McGowan of Trailhead Spirits – From Gin to Grain and Back Again Article & Photo by Kim Thielman-Ibes Trailhead Spirits has been 125 years and four generations in the making, and if Casey McGowan’s family genes could have predicted anything, it would have been exactly this. “The stories were all there,” says Casey, proprietor of boutique distillery, Trailhead Spirits in Billings. “Right between my two great-grandfathers.” Casey McGowan, along with his wife and Billing’s native, Stephanie McGowan, own Trailhead Spirits, a Montana-made, craft distillery that produces Great North Vodka, Healy’s Gin, and Highwood Whiskey all made from local ingredients – including wheat from the nearby McGowan family farm. The McGowan family tree found its start in Montana during the late 1800s and early 1900s. “On my father’s side, Frank McGowan, was one of the original homesteaders to raise wheat in Montana, while my other great-grandfather, Irishman, Michael Healy, was a successful bar owner turned bootlegger in Butte during prohibition.” Casey grew up on the family farm, located in Montana’s Golden Triangle – famous for its wheat producing capacity – and not surprisingly, found himself majoring in agriculture at Montana State University. “My degree covered everything from working on all aspects of agricultural machinery, to soil, and the science and technology of crop production. It ties in really nice to what we are doing,” Casey explains. “We’re not doing traditional agriculture, but were using grains to make a product and with my greatgrandfathers’ history between wheat and whiskey, it just came together.” Casey’s storied family past provided the base ingredients to his entrepreneurial future. However, like both his great-grandfathers, starting a small business endeavor in the wild west – be it the late 1800s or early 21st century, would prove to take tenacity, patience, and betting the family fortune – essentially, it would take a dream – a dream that began over eight years ago. “All this history came to a head with me,” Casey marvels. “I didn’t know craft distilleries existed until January 2005.” He and his family went to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl. His wife’s uncle was the associate athletic director for the University of Texas, and the Longhorns were facing off against the Michigan Wolverines. “We had tickets for the hospitality suite and met the owner of Tito’s Vodka, a handcrafted vodka made in Austin, Texas,” Casey recalls. (Continued on page 31)