Distilling great ideas in addition to great beverages

Lori Kaye Lodes

Contributor

August 5, 2024

STEVENS POINT – Since moving the Great Northern Distilling operation to downtown Stevens Point – which included the opening of a tasting room/mixology bar with a Mid-century supper club feel, a dedicated event space and a patio – last May, Founder Brian Cummins said, business is, shall we say, hopping.

“It’s been a world of difference from our location in Plover,” he said. “That was a nice place to start, in an old car dealership with a tasting room and a lovely spot – but the move and expansion… to downtown Stevens Point has been significant for us.”

Cummins said a Friday night at the Stevens Point location (1011 2nd St.) brings in the same revenue as a whole week in Plover.

“We’re accessing the core of the Stevens Point area,” he said.

As the distillery – which was created on the premise of “making spirits of exceptional smoothness” from ingredients sourced within about 150 miles of Stevens Point – celebrates its 10th year in business (its first at the Stevens Point location), Cummins said things are flourishing.

The move, he said, included the addition of “shareable” foods as well – such as flatbreads made fresh from the Main Grain Bakery across the street; smoked white fish pate made from smoked Lake Michigan whitefish from Sheboygan, charcuterie options from Driftless Provisions and soft pretzels from Milwaukee Pretzel Co. 

“We try to work with local food ingredient purveyors whenever we can,” Cummins said. “We make as much as we can onsite while keeping a basic, shareable menu. We aren’t trying to be a full-service restaurant.”

A little bit of everything

Cummins said the focus of Great Northern Distilling since opening its doors in April 2014 has been clear – produce great, small-batch liquor from high-quality, locally-sourced ingredients.

The Great Northern Potato Vodka – a huge seller, which is made in traditional Polish fashion using fresh, local potatoes – he said, was one of the earliest products out of the gate.

“It’s different from the usual tasteless North American vodka, but there’s a space for it as a martini drinker’s vodka – it’s smooth and flavorful,” he said.

It was followed by other mainstays such as the Herbalist Gin, Great Northern Vanguard Whiskey (a bourbon) and Rye Whiskey.

Cummins said most bourbons are primarily corn, but theirs is low-corn and “rides the line between the flavor of Kentucky bourbon and a Canadian whiskey.”

“It’s a Wisconsin whiskey – halfway between Kentucky and Canada,” he said. “We use 55% corn instead of the 70-75% corn in most, and the rest is wheat, barley and rye to move from the traditional bourbon flavor to a smooth Canadian whiskey.”

A few of the unexpected offerings along the way, Cummins said, include the Opportunity Rum (the key ingredient in the popular Rumbo cocktails made at the mixology bar), as well as a ginseng-infused bourbon whiskey.

“Rumbos,” as they are known, were popular pre-COVID-19, and when the pandemic hit, he said Great Northern offered 750-mL, full-size liquor bottles of the premature signature cocktail to satisfy customers.

Fast forward to the new location and a post-COVID world, and Cummins said Great Northern discovered another opportunity for Rumbos and a few other cocktails – creating a single or double serving of ready-to-drink, splits of bottled cocktails customers can purchase to-go.

“We’re maybe a block from the Riverfront, and there’s a weekly music series in the summer with a free concert every Thursday evening,” he said. “We wanted to offer something for those people who aren’t beer drinkers (which is what is served at concessions). They’re great for any on-the-go activity.”

Cummins said though the ginseng-infused distilled alcohol concept isn’t something new – noting that Paul Hsu of Hsu’s Ginseng Enterprises had the idea of a ginseng brandy in the late 1990s – it never took off locally.

He said he believes that is because the idea was a bit ahead of its time. 

So when Paul’s son Will Hsu came to Cummins around 2016 and suggested working on a ginseng-infused whiskey, they sought to not create a ginseng spirit in keeping with its traditional Chinese roots, but as a “ginseng spirit for a new generation.”

“There are younger people who don’t associate these traditional Chinese ingredients with their medicinal use who are open to enjoying it in their everyday social life,” he said.

Upon the product’s creation, Cummins said 25-30% of its revenue came from exports to Taiwan – but there was great intention to broaden that.

Great Northern, he said, has been focusing on selling the ginseng-infused whiskey to Chinese American communities in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and beyond.

Cummins said he is also hopeful about broadening its appeal to other consumers.

“We have been focusing on Chinese American communities, but we also believe the American palate is changing to appreciate more of the more complex and bitter flavors the rest of the world has enjoyed for a long time,” he said. “We’re convinced that someday, this will be the coolest spirit in Brooklyn.”

Speaking of distribution

Cummins said that’s changed a lot since the distillery’s origins.

“When we started, the pathway to success for a craft distillery was to rush into distribution and rush into multiple states around you and then rush to get nationwide distribution,” he said. “That’s how a lot of the distilleries in the 10 years before us were successful, but we found it became more difficult with store shelves filling up with a lot of options.”

Cummins said what he found was that people started looking for their local brand to support, and that required more of a regional, or even local, focus versus such a broad one. 

“That was the focus of building the new facility in (Stevens) Point – to focus on a home where people could come and engage with us, meet the people making the products, see the ingredients and see where it’s coming from,” he said.

Cummins said Great Northern still distributes its spirits in Wisconsin, as well as California and New York, but the other states are largely driven by the ginseng-infused bourbon whiskey.

He said he considers that one of the biggest learning curves to doing business.

“We had to rethink our business plan and focus less on distribution and more on on-site revenue and engaging directly with our customers,” he said.

A peek inside

A key part of that experience, Cummins said, is that the spirits are made on-site.

Another, he said, is the people.

Great Northern employs 13 people, including four full-time employees in addition to Cummins.

The distillery’s atmosphere, Cummins said, is highlighted by the mixology bar/tasting room, which features a long, padded bar with comfortable chairs made for lounging.

“We even made the bar using Weldtex, a material that was popular in Mid-century homes throughout the ’50s and ’60s and was out of production for a long time,” he said. “But then a gentleman on the West Coast started using it again, and we’re the first (business) in the Midwest using this striated plywood. It’s beautiful when the light catches it the right way.”

The Great Northern operations, Cummins said, also includes a private event room with its own bar completely separate from the tasting room – which accommodates events without any intrusion from the open tasting room/mixology bar.

The room, he said, also features a stage, perfect for hosting various musical acts, including several jazz musicians – and Jazz Coerie, which is described as a curated, pop-up, live music concert series.

Cummins said Great Northern hosts musicians in North Central Wisconsin as they make their way between gigs in Chicago and Minneapolis. 

The distillery has utilized the space for various other events, he said, including a handcrafted market hosted around Halloween, a holiday market and a Valentine’s Day market.

“We’re intentional about having a curated list of handcrafted vendors who make things themselves to give people a premium spot to buy gifts,” he said. 

And though the patio was installed last summer, Cummins said it wasn’t furnished until this season with sunshades and planters that grow the mint, thyme, sage and other herbs the mixology bar uses.

He said it also features some simple picnic tables for sitting outside and accommodates customers who want to enjoy a beverage with their dog in tow.

“In all our spaces, we’re always trying to find ways to build community and for people to have a space to come to that’s a third space,” he said. “It’s not your home, it’s not your work – it’s like your public living room.”

Cummins said word has spread about the distillery’s location, and being part of the “craft collective” of breweries, distilleries and wineries in the Stevens Point area has proven to be a great way to promote the beverage tourism of the region.

“That gives people a chance to enjoy the experience they can’t get on the store shelves,” he said.

Though Great Northern is a 10-year-old company, Cummins said it “feels like we’re in startup mode to an extent” because it’s a different business.

“(Partly because there have been some) changes in laws that allow us to offer outside spirits, beer and wine and our new location,” he said. “We’re learning the ebb and flow and seasonality of the Stevens Point location as it’s different.”

Cummins said he is excited to position the distillery for the next 10-15 years, including some elements of succession planning.

“The goal is to ensure Great Northern is viable and healthy,” he said. “We’re constantly figuring out new ways to do things and new ways to be successful.”

For more, visit greatnortherndistilling.com.