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Mammoth distilling

The taste is like a trip up north. That’s how tasting room manager Jude Walser describes Mammoth Distilling’s Michigan whiskey. “This is a rye whiskey,” he explained. “When you use rye in whiskey the natural flavors are bigger, bolder, and have a woodier flavor,” he said. “When you go up north there

Jude Walser, Tasting Room Manager

Mammoth Distilling 517.438.8532   108 E Maumee St, Adrian mammothdistilling.com is a lot of kayaking, camping, and roughing it. So I would say that the general air and mood and feel of our Michigan whiskey fits with Northern Michigan.”

In addition to their Michigan whiskey, Mammoth also offers a bourbon, an additional rye whiskey, along with gin, vodka, coffee and cherry liqueurs, and bottles of what they call their borrowed time projects. “For our borrowed time projects, our distillers go to other distilleries and taste and purchase single barrels that they find to be particularly great,” said Walser. These are spirits that Mammoth cannot make, either because they’re aged longer than Mammoth has been in business, or they are in product categories that cannot be made in the United States. “After we buy these unique barrels, we blend them to make something unique to us,” explained Jude. “Because these single barrel picks can’t be replicated, it’s usually one and done, and we move on to the next project. They are always really fun and always rotating.”

Mammoth Distilling first opened six years ago in the Northern Michigan town of Central Lake, and quickly expanded to four Northern Michigan tasting rooms. This past November, they opened an Adrian location. “It might seem like Adrian is the lonely island away from all their northern locations, but the owners have strong family ties to Adrian,” he said. “This location was meaningful to them. It’s a down home project.”

One could say that Mammoth Distillery itself is a down home Michigan project. They use grains from Michigan sources. Mammoth describes their spirits as “hewn from the glacial lakes and hills of Northern Michigan, and reflect the local, ancient character of the ingredients we use in every batch.” This commitment to Michigan means that their finished product has a taste that is purely unique to our state. Just like the way regions and climates impact grapes and wine, the location of where grains are grown can impact taste of spirits. “That’s called terroir,” said Walser. “Terroir is what the local micro climate brings to the final product. That could be the soil content or what minerals are dissolved in the water. It is also about how the climate effects the growth of the grains. That will determine if they have more sugar or thicker husks or more woody flavors. All of this affects different compounds that come out in the fermenting.”

The Mammoth tasting rooms offer a changing menu of craft cocktails that rotate seasonally to stay in sync with local and seasonal produce. While the menu is consistent across all locations, the staff at each tasting room will add their own features. “Come in to ask the bartenders what they are tinkering with. We always have some R&D going on,” Walser laughed. “Maybe we are tinkering with something we found at the farmer’s market or testing out a new pairing.” In addition, the Adrian location will at times add cocktails specific to Adrian, like the Maple City Old Fashioned. “We use the old fashioned skeleton, but to celebrate Maple City, we pair it with local Michigan maple syrup and black walnut bitters. It is a beautiful flavor combo.” Customers can also order to-go cocktails via the Mammoth website and pick them up at the tasting room.

While the distillery does not offer food service, they do have QR codes available for Rice and Barley as well as Buzz Café. “You can scan it right from your table and they will run it over. Everyone is welcome to bring in outside food or have delivery from local restaurants,” Walser said. “I have a couple of regulars who come in on Sundays. They always come to enjoy a few drinks and bring along items from Boulevard Market in Tecumseh.”

If their spirits take on the up north taste, the atmosphere of the Adrian tasting room takes on the up north feel. The décor is a lodge camping vibe, intended to be comfy and cozy. Yet Walser explains that what really makes it a comfortable place is the attitude of staff and patrons. “We have a lot of regulars and people get to know each other,” he said. “That in itself makes for a cozy atmosphere.” He points out that while the craft cocktail scene can have a reputation for being a bit pretentious, Mammoth is anything but. “We are craft cocktails, but we are really a laid back and approachable place. What I think is so much fun is that so many people get interested and ask lots of questions. We love that. You don’t have to come in here knowing anything at all about cocktails, you can come in, try something out, ask questions, and even learn new things with us. This is just really an inclusive place for people to have a comfortable and laid back time away from home.”

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river raisin distillery

“It all started when we happened to come upon an old trunk,” said Krista Jarvis who owns Manchester’s River Raisin Distillery along with her husband Joe and her parents Rick and Annette Pringle. Several years ago, Krista and Joe were cleaning out an old family farmhouse that had been scheduled for demolition. There in that home, on a day that had been set aside to prep for an ending, a small piece of paper inside an old trunk gave Joe and Krista a beginning like no other.

“When we looked at this piece of paper, we knew it was a recipe,” said Krista. “But it didn’t say what it was a recipe for. So we took it home and Joe started trying to figure it out. At one point, he said he thought it might be a liquor recipe.”

Joe was right. This old discovered liquor recipe, that they have named Cane and Grain, has become the cornerstone of River Raisin Distillery. “When we first tried it we thought it was a rum,” said Krista. “We thought, why hasn’t anyone ever put grains in a rum? It makes it so smooth and delicious.” However, when they submitted their recipe to the federal government, the government told them that it could not be labeled a rum since a rum has to be 100 percent cane sugar. “So we said ok, it’s not a rum. So maybe it’s a vodka.” Once again the government said, no. Vodka has to come off the still at 192 proof continuously. Their recipe starts at 192 but then drops down to about 172-176. “So we finally asked them, what is it? They told us that our recipe was neutral spirits distilled from cane and River Raisin Distillery   734.709.1024 480 W Main St Manchester

Krista and Joe Jarvis - Owners

grain. So cane and grain it is,” she said. “We didn’t want to change our recipe to fit their categories. We loved what we had. It’s a true old world recipe. This is what liquor was before all the regulations.”

Because most people are used to regulated categories of liquor, the taste of Cane and Grain can be hard to pinpoint. It almost tastes like a word on the tip of one’s tongue and one almost recognizes it, before it changes again. “We find it so exciting to offer people a taste that doesn’t have a category,” said Krista. “The best way to describe it is that it has the grains of a whiskey, the sweetness of a rum, and the cleanness of vodka,” she said. “It’s sweeter than a vodka but not as sweet as a rum. Whiskey drinkers also tend to like it because we don’t strip it of flavor in the distillation process.”

This mixture of categories in one liquor makes it highly versatile. It mixes well with almost anything. “We feature Canea-Ritas instead of margaritas,” said Krista. “It mixes well with any citrus. It goes great with mint and makes great mojitos. It goes great with sodas. We have a lot of rum and coke drinkers that come in here. We give them a Coke-Cane. It switches them. They buy a bottle and then come back and buy another bottle. It’s just really good liquor.” Krista believes that it is the recipe alongside their process that makes such a great spirit. “We are so proud of our process,” she said. “We get all of our grains from Dexter Mill and local farmers. We make our own mash. This is 100 percent our own baby. We won’t cut any corners. This is how my ancestors did it forever ago. We are going to always do it the old world way.”

From the very beginning this intriguing old world way had a local following. With their opening taking place in the volatile and unknown atmosphere of the summer of 2020, they weren’t sure quite what to expect. Yet on their first day, they had a line out the door and sold 120 bottles in three hours. They were completely sold out within 11 hours. “We were so blessed and baffled and amazed by the support we had,” said Krista. “We couldn’t ring them up fast enough.”

While the initial interest was a combination of community support and curiosity, their sustained success and growth speaks to the quality of their product. Since their opening day, they’ve become a popular destination, both for those looking to buy a bottle or for those looking to sit and order from the distillery’s ever-changing cocktail menu. They also offer to-go cocktail pouches. “They are really good if you put them in the freezer,” said Krista. “They turn into a slushie.” While at the distillery, customers can snack on specialty popcorn and pretzels or order food delivery from local Manchester restaurants. At times, the distillery also hosts various food trucks.

“So much work went into this,” said Krista, “but it was so worth it. There is a feeling and an ambience in here. I truly think our customers can feel our love by how much time and energy we put into every single thing we’ve done.” n