Grand Traverse Distillery

Very nice find in the newer shopping area of Frankenmuth. I saw a sign that said vodka tasting and thought this might be better than looking at candles or other knick knack items.
The proprietor was busy with another group when I walked in so I took the opportunity to look around. Lots of bourbon, whiskey, wine, and other items available for sale. I didn’t puruse closely enough the labels but I suspect it was all local stuff.
But I was there for the vodka which I am a big fan of. I was served up my sample and wow… lights out good. Cherry vodka flavor with chocolate notes at finish… tasted like a chocolate covered cherry. Very smooth going down. So proceeded to buy a bottle and left.
750mL was about $ 35 total but worth it. I have since looked for sales in this area and can’t find it; looks like it is limited to Traverse City and surrounding retail areas in Michigan. Next time I am there I will be buying several bottles as gifts for co-​workers. Great local flavor and happy to support a local (to Michigan) distillery.

If someone on your gift list likes spirits, there are gifts here that you cannot get anywhere else back home. The staff is knowledgeable and helped me find a few good bottles. The cherry vodka is not the cheap stuff in your grocery store that college girls buy. You will hardly taste the cherry… it isn’t cloyingly sweet… it’s very subtle. I bought a smaller bottle of that and another of the whiskey, based on the staff’s suggestion.

This is a great tasting room in the midst of cheesy shops in downtown Frankenmuth. You can sample a plethora of whiskeys, bourbons and vodka for $ 1 a piece or $ 5 for 3 with a nice souvenir glass. I sampled a rye and cherry vodka, as well as a Traverse City cherry flavored bourbon. The employee/​bartender gave great descriptions of each of the samples. The prices were a little high, but it is nice to buy and support local business.

This was the 3^rd time I’ve been to the Distillery tasting room. The first 2 times were ok. My wife and I enjoyed the spirits and the staff was very knowledgable about the product. We always left happy and with a bottle of the cherry vodka.
However, we were very disappointed when we went this time. We were so excited to see that Blackstar Farms had joined in with this tasting room because we are wine club members. When we asked if they were an official tasting room the staff member said that they were but as soon as we took out our club card membership he told us that it was not. We left and thought we might come back later in the day.
We came back and decided to do some wine and spirits tastings. We had a different staff member and she could not have cared less that we were there. The tastings are a $ 1 a piece and at one point she served my wife a wine she didn’t even ask for. After she served us a drink she would stand there telling us nothing about the wine but look angry and disgusted to be working.
It was an unpleasant experience but I will still give it 3 stars only because Grand Traverse Distillery and Blackstar Farms products are great.

This place is great. Chocolate vodka?!? Yes please!