Our Story
Why be a typical distillery when you don't have to? With a combined fifty years of brewing, winemaking, and alcohol production experience, the owners/scientists used their knowledge and expertise to design a one of a kind production system coined the submarine process. You won't find this process anywhere else in the world!
One vessel, a local 1950s dairy tank donated by a local farmer, is where mashing, fermentation and distillation occur. The submarine process eliminates the need to transfer liquid between tanks thus reducing contamination compared to traditional production methods. The result is a cleaner alcohol prior to and after distillation.
Pretty much everything you see when you come to the distillery was constructed by the owners. Jeffrey Newton, who passed in 2017 just prior to the official opening, was instrumental throughout the building of the process area and tasting room. It was his idea to utilize local resources to make the tasting room rich with local history. For example, the bar top which is slate from the roof of the old Moro train station and the pallet wood for the tasting room wall comes from Scott Airforce base.
The Bluestem Vodka bottles pictured below were the first bottled at a rate of 45 seconds per bottle using a dosing pump. The distillery now has a bottle machine to fill 20 bottles per minute thankfully :)
Why the name Bluestem? Big Bluestem is the State Prairie Grass of Illinois and Missouri. Bluestem grass is featured prominently wrapping around the bottle.
The distillery supports local businesses and values American made.
The goal of their Tours is for visitors to learn about the process, to enjoy a Bluestem Vodka tasting & cocktail, and to have fun!
