The Midwest's Premier Local Food Event

I grew up on a small hobby farm outside of Woodstock, Illinois, out in McHenry County.  When we moved out to the country, my dad, a passionate gentleman farmer and pragmatic man, informed us that we could get whatever animals we wanted for our little farm.  There were a couple of stipulations:  1. My mom hated chickens, so they were out; and 2. The animals had to have some redeeming commercial value.  In other words, as my dad put it, �You can get any animal you want as long as you are willing to eat it.�

While some think this may have turned us into hardened little livestock men, I look back and realize that it made my brother and I learned to appreciate not only the relationship that a farmer has for his flock, but also the responsibility one gains from being responsible for animals.

Now, with my brother as a wildlife biologist working with the bison herds in Montana and me heading up a company devoted to restoring and promoting local farms, I think this initial introduction to stewardship must have had an effect.

Death�s Door Spirits, at its core, is not about booze.  It was originally conceived as a company that would work with small and medium scale farms in the region to help develop value-added products and provide a medium for consumers, producers and processors to connect.  Alcoholic beverages seemed like a strong way to connect with consumers at a non-commodity level, we were confident we could make a high-quality product, and  at the same time bring high-margins back to the company to be able to grow the idea further. 

Death�s Door Vodka, Gin and Whisky have become known in the region and across the country
has extremely high quality spirits that don�t have a marketing angle but instead have an ingrained story of integrity and passion baked into the product�s core.  Death�s Door Gin has been awarded Wine & Spirits Magazine�s �Best Spirits 2009�, the white whisky continues to be written up and glowingly reviewed in publications across the nation, and our vodka was referred by one reviewer as, �The best thing to come out of Wisconsin since Frank Lloyd Wright.�