The interesting revelation was that many of the products offered appeared new to me.  Yes, there was an interesting bottle of a 100 proof bourbon called Circa by Atwater Spirits.  Yes, this is the same Atwater Brewery based in Detroit and Grand Rapids famous for their Dirty Blonde and Vanilla Java Porter beers.

Recently, during a visit to a market near my home, I was reminded of the growth of Michigan Bourbons. I usually visit the bourbon aisle to see if, by chance, there was something new or the possibility of seeing something rare. However, on this trip, I noticed an end cap display which featured a varied selection of Michigan distillery products.

Valentine Distilling was featured front and center with their Mayor Pingree Bourbon Whiskey. This distillery is doing a lot of things right, and many drinkers are impressed with these bourbons. Their youngest bourbon is four years old, and the others are ten years old.

Another established brewery, New Holland, is also distilling spirits. Their Beer Barrel Bourbon is unique and never disappoints. I am also looking forward to sampling their Zeppelin Bend straight malt whiskey.

Long Road Distillers in Grand Rapids produces many awards winning spirits. Their straight bourbon is young but is terrific in a cocktail.  Look for their bourbon aged in a Croze Nest™ Michigan manufactured barrel. More to come in a future story about these hand made barrels expertly made in Michigan.

Also in Grand Rapids is the fantastically friendly folks at Gray Skies Distillery. They have a wide range of various offerings including a couple of bourbons, definitely worth the visit.

Detroit City Distillery offers Butcher’s Cut Bourbon which won an American Distilling Institute award of the best bourbon in America that is less than two years old.

So what all of this means is that there is a strong and growing craft distilling industry in the Great Lakes State. Based on everything I am reading and seeing our new goal will be to visit every craft distiller in my home state to see the growth of Michigan bourbons first hand. Of course, we will continue to visit Kentucky whenever time permits.

So much bourbon and so little time!