Branchwater Farms

When we first laid eyes on this farm in 2013, we knew how lucky we were to have found it. Kevin fell in love with its untouched nature and clear readiness for the right attention. Robin saw the beauty in having a big slice of earth to care for. She felt an immediate connection, a nurturing sense returned by the cradling valley itself. Its cedar forests, winding creek, and stony slopes reminded her of other spots she had known and loved. Both of us were drawn to the tenderness of the farmhouse and the potential of the old dairy barn. It’s now the place we and our children call home.

We wanted to honor this farm by bringing to it an uncommon vision: To create an outpost of responsible land stewardship rooted in respect for tradition, quality, and craft. To transform this abandoned mixed farm through integrated, organic — and regenerative — practices. To pioneer this way of cultivating heritage grains as part of a reciprocal relationship with the land. And to craft spirits as the purest, most complex liquid expressions of place, using custom-designed and -built tools and unrivaled knowhow. Our hope is that by making the most expressive, terroir-driven spirits possible, we will draw you, too, closer to the land and a way of farming that has the power to change the world.

With everything we’re doing to ensure we grow the highest quality grains, we can’t imagine taking the risk of degrading that standard with imperfect distillation. Quality starts in the fields with farming, it is preserved in fermentation, and it is refined by distillation.

“First you invest 130 days in ensuring your grain grows in ideal health and balance on your field. Then you need another 5 days to shepherd the grain through fermentation. You don’t want to destroy it all in a few hours of flawed distilling,” says Reisetbauer.

The system we have at Branchwater is the culmination of Hans’ own relentless trial-and-error design experience and peerless expertise in distillery systems design. Tiny modifications to equipment and process all along the way from grain to spirit add up to a huge step-up in quality.