FEATURED: Made in Michigan

Rifino Valentine is on a mission to bring back quality American manufacturing. While working in New York City on Wall Street, he saw first hand what he calls the “corporatization” of America. Giant companies are beholden to profits, and therefore try to do everything the fastest and cheapest way in an attempt to maximize shareholder earnings. What is lost is the quality in goods. What is lost is the handmade aspect. With only a dozen or so micro-distilleries in the country in 2007 (now there are over 400), Valentine opened his Detroit-based, artisan distilling company (the area’s first since Prohibition) as a fight back against mass-produced spirits.


New Gin from Ransom!

RansomDryGinSmall.jpgWhat do you get when you give the recipe for classic Dutch genevers gin to the folks at Oregon’s Ransom Wine & Spirits (i.e. Tad Seestedt)? You get Old World meets New—in a giant bear hug. Ransom’s Dry Gin is an electrifying combination of traditional malty hoppiness with intense Oregon-centric botanicals such as marionberry and local hops. It’s sustainably farmed and alambic pot distilled, using only the “heart of the hearts” (the best of the best) for bottling. The result is ethereal: hops and white flowers, fresh marionberry and juniper berries. It’s rich and silky in your mouth, with citrus and exotic spice notes. Started by Tad Seestedt in 1997 with a “small life savings and a fistful of credit cards,” Ransom Wine & Spirits was built on handcrafted products that pay homage to big dreams and and not-so-big wallets.

Read more about Ransom Dry Gin.