Tattersall Distilling to release whiskey from new, perennial grain Kernza

Perhaps you’ve never heard of Kernza, a perennial grain. Yet the drought-tolerant grass might just show up in your next happy hour, as Tattersall Distilling Co. releases its new Tattersall Kernza Perennial Grain Whiskey.

It is the first 100% Kernza whiskey in the country, and it is being launched with a tasting and celebration on April 29 in River Falls.

Jon Kreidler is chief officer of Tattersall Distilling Company, which he co-founded with his childhood friend Dan Oskey in Minneapolis in 2015. In 2021, they crossed over the Wisconsin border and opened a 75,000-square-foot tasting room, restaurant and event space in a former Shopko in River Falls. It is home to the largest solar array of any craft distillery in the nation, plus a first of its kind water reclamation system.

Tattersall was tapped by the Land Institute of Kansas and the University of Minnesota’s Forever Green initiative to see if there was an interest in working with the perennial. Sustainability is a large part of Tattersall's approach.

Whiskey made with Kernza is a test and an experiment for the distillery, and part of a growing goal for the perennial grain. This has been years in the making, starting with the investment in the grains and a farmer in Cambridge, Minn., who grows them for the distillery.

“Bang Brewing, a really cool brewery out of St. Paul, has featured Kernza. Dogfish Head has made beer with it, but at the time we started nobody was distilling,” said Kreidler.

New perennial grain isn't grown much yet

Only 4,000 acres of Kernza are grown in the United States, and 190 of them are here in Wisconsin.

Tattersall started small with this new whiskey, just one barrel for this first bottling of its kind in the nation. At 90 proof, Tattersall’s Kernza perennial grain whiskey is also lower than many of its other options, which often range from 90 to 100 proof.

The new Tattersall Kernza Perennial Grain Whiskey was aged in charred oak barrels for three years. Production was very limited for the first go-round, and so is availability of this $80 a bottle spirit.

“We are calling it Kernza whiskey. Kernza is a trademarked name,” said Kreidler. “The flavor is super unique, it almost has this nutty brandy note to it.”

A cousin of annual wheat, and a forage grass, intermediate wheatgrass produces Kernza perennial grain. The trademark for Kernza is owned by The Land Institute, a nonprofit 501c3 based in Kansas. The Land Institute works with farmers, plant breeders and ecologists with a focus on developing on perennial grains, among other things.

“Being the first 100% Kernza distilled spirit on the market, that’s a big deal,” said Tammy Kimbler, chief communications officer for The Land Institute, which has worked with the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well. “The beers are blends, so this is notable. There was another (Kernza) whiskey that came out in Kansas, from Smoky Valley Distillery, but this will be the first 100% Kernza distilled spirit.”

While there is still a learning curve for growing and using Kernza, which is the first commercially available perennial grain, Kreidler sees it as worth the investment. Interest is growing as availability continues to move forward.

“The concept of the perennial grain itself, if you aren’t tearing up the land, you aren’t releasing a lot of carbon. If you can avoid that, it is pretty awesome,” Kreidler said. “In addition, the Kernza taproot is between 8 and 15 feet, so it is a drought-resistant grain, which is super important.”

“Kernza has only really been on the landscape in a modestly signficant way since about 2019,” said Kimbler. “That is when the first commercial acreage started to be produced.”

Kimbler added, “Perennial means that Kernza is planted once, and it grows and produces grain for four to five years without having to replant it. You don’t have to till the fields.”

Tattersall strives for sustainable products

Currently, Kernza is primarily grown in the Midwest. The majority of plantings are in Minnesota, Kansas and Montana. 

Tattersall expects this whiskey to sell quickly, and ordering is available nationally through St. Paul-based Solo Vino Wines.  Go to tattersalldistilling.com or follow @tattersalldistilling for more information.

On April 29 in collaboration with the Wisconsin DNR, Tattersall will launch the Kernza perennial grain whiskey and give away 1,400 trees in honor of Arbor Day.

“We’ve always been about what drives us for the future. I’ve got kids, most of the guys on the team do too. There is relation business wise, but it is the right thing to do, and what everybody should be doing. We think everybody will get there eventually,” Kreidler said.

Kernza is just the beginning for Tattersall’s search for sustainable sips. The distillery is also looking at pea protein.

“We’ve been working with Puris and pea proteins,” said Kreidler, noting using the starch remaining after pea protein and fiber are used is part of a goal for no-waste in processing. “We’ve been playing with those guys for the past six months making spirits out of that as well. To be honest, one of the biggest hurdles is what to call it, because to call it pea vodka is not appealing. But the spirit itself is pretty awesome, and I’m looking forward to that.”

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tattersall Distilling to release whiskey from perennial grain Kernza