Traverse City distills medalists

Mark Urban, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·2 min read

Jun. 1—HAYWARD, California — Grand Traverse Distillery won two awards in one event.

North River Vodka won a silver medal and Grand Traverse Distillery a bronze at the American Distilling Institute's 2022 International Spirits Competition.

North River Vodka, which is made from potatoes from the Iott Seed Farm in Kalkaska, has been distilled in Grand Traverse Distillery's Traverse City facility since October 2019. The vodka, which launched exclusively at Grand River Brewery in Jackson in 2018 before statewide distribution a year later, has been available in the Grand Traverse Distillery tasting rooms since late August 2021.

"I love working with them; I feel like family around them," said North River Vodka co-owner Chris Iott, who grew up on Iott Seed Farms, which his father purchased in 1974. "I hope they're as proud of (the award) as we are."

North River Vodka won its silver medal in the residual base vodka category. Grand Traverse Distillery won a bronze medal in the competition for its Cocoa Bean Vodka.

The Iott farm produces 22 million pounds of seed potatoes annually, Iott said. Those too big or small to be the ideal seed potatoes wind up as North River Vodka, named after the family property on the Manistee River.

"We make vodka out of the potatoes that they don't need," said Iott, whose family can trace its farming roots in Michigan to the 1800s.

"We're very thankful to Grand Traverse Distillery for working with potatoes from the family's farm to make an award-winning vodka," co-owner Amanda Iott said in a release. "We're extremely proud of this award. Grand Traverse Distillery should be, too."

In addition to being distilled at Grand Traverse Distillery and distributed through Imperial Beverage, Chris Iott said North River Vodka is carried in about 100 stores, restaurants and bars in the state. North River is also available in Traverse City at places like The Beverage Company, Oleson's Food Stores, Bayside Market and Roy's General Store.

Long Road Distillers, which is based in Grand Rapids and has a tasting room in Cadillac, won seven medals at the 2022 competition, winning silver for its Aquavit, Nocino and Original Orange Liqueur and bronzes for its Amaro Pazzo, Dry Gin, Grand Absinthe and Red Amaro.