Grand Traverse Distillery

Grand Traverse Distillery at a Glance

Grand Traverse Distillery has 9 distinct products with 22 total TTB label approvals, including Vodka - Cherry Flavored, Vodka - Chocolate Flavored, Vodka - Other Flavored. Labels approved between 2020-01-06 and 2023-05-03. Label origins on file: Michigan.

At a Glance data sourced from public TTB records.

Grand Traverse Distillery

Kent Rabish grew up on a family farm in Pinconning, Michigan, where he found a still hidden in a barn that Grandpa George had used for excess grain, according to Grand Traverse Distillery's website. The site traces the distillery's opening in 2005 to that childhood discovery, recalled decades later near the end of his business career.

How Grand Traverse Distillery began

Rabish had spent more than 25 years working for a pharmaceutical company, ClickOnDetroit reported in May 2023. Vodka and gin offered a way to bring in revenue early: the distillery could turn out vodka in six to eight weeks while whiskey needed time to age, he told the outlet. The report dates the start of production to 2007.

After graduating from Central Michigan University in 2010, Landis Rabish joined the distillery, following his father, the company's website says. Landis was its Master Distiller when he died in March 2023, according to the site's memorial.

Rye, wheat, and a cherry variation

The distillery says it buys grain from farms just a few miles away. Its malted barley and malted rye came from Great Lakes Malting in Traverse City, Rabish told 9&10 News in an interview published in 2019. Speaking to ClickOnDetroit in May 2023, he said its corn, wheat, and rye were local, while its rum used Caribbean molasses.

True North Rye Vodka is the distillery's original spirit, with bread dough and black pepper notes from the rye, according to its website. The wheat vodka is produced similarly, using what the site calls a Russian-style wheat base. That wheat vodka also becomes the base for the cherry version, flavored with tart cherry juice from the Leelanau Peninsula and dark cocoa.

Bringing spirits to visitors

The first tasting room opened in Frankenmuth in 2010, followed by one on Front Street in downtown Traverse City, ClickOnDetroit reported. The Leland and Mackinaw City locations were seasonal, according to that May 2023 account.

See the TTB label records for Grand Traverse Distillery on this page.

Sources

• Grand Traverse Distillery (grandtraversedistillery.com). “About.” Undated. https://www.grandtraversedistillery.com/about
• Grand Traverse Distillery (grandtraversedistillery.com). “Our Spirits.” Undated. https://www.grandtraversedistillery.com/our-spirits
• ClickOnDetroit (WDIV). “Did you know the most ‘pure Michigan’ spirits can be found in Traverse City?” Elizabeth Washington, 9 May 2023. https://www.clickondetroit.com/food/2023/05/09/did-you-know-the-most-pure-michigan-spirits-can-be-found-in-traverse-city/
• 9&10 News (9and10news.com). “Brewvine: Grand Traverse Distillery.” Whitney Amann and Jeremy Erickson, 1 November 2019; updated 19 January 2023. https://www.9and10news.com/2019/11/01/brewvine-grand-traverse-distillery/
• TTB Public COLA Registry via BUY.VODKA data snapshot (src/data/labels.json, local build 31 October 2026). “Grand Traverse Distillery” label approvals. Local read-only query, 31 October 2026.

Produced At

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• Muscle also makes Vodka - Cherry Flavored
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• Heritage Distilling CO also makes Vodka 80-89 Proof
• Holla also makes Vodka - Cherry Flavored

Related Questions

• Where is Grand Traverse Distillery vodka made?
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