Tasting notes

nose

soft caramel with a thread of fennel

palate

rich caramel layered with black pepper and a delicate, building spice

finish

lingering; warm spice with a touch of cayenne, settling into a salted, savory depth

Mash bill

95% Rosen rye, 5% malted Rosen rye. Rosen is an American rye variety developed by Joseph A. Rosen around 1910; it fell out of cultivation after 1970 and was replanted from rescued seed in 2015. Far North planted Keystone Rosen seed on its own farm in 2021, the first time the variety had been grown that far north and the first heirloom rye on the farm. The malted share is the same Rosen rye, malted by Vertical Malt in Crookston, Minnesota, so no other grain enters the mash.

Why it's craft

The rye in this bottle was planted on section 4 of the Swanson family farm in Hallock in 2021, from Keystone Rosen seed, and harvested, mashed, distilled and aged on the same farm. Far North's single varietal series bottles one rye variety at a time, each selected and farmed for how it tastes once distilled. Michael Swanson and Cheri Reese founded the distillery in 2013 on land the family has farmed since 1917, 25 miles from the Canadian border.