New Ulm distillery's whiskeys have local roots

Jan. 24—Eight years ago, Nate Gieseke began growing barley for Schell's brewery on his family's farm east of Klossner on the historic Fort Road.

Jace Marti, the brewmaster representing the sixth generation of the iconic New Ulm brewery, was looking for a more flavorful barley when he turned to his friend Gieseke for help.

Then after a while, they began talking.

"We started talking and said what else can we do with this barley and Nate said whiskey, and we laughed," Marti said.

"But the joke got out of control really quick," he said of the two deciding to launch Black Frost Distillery in New Ulm, which opened last fall.

Gieske is growing the ingredients for their whiskeys and bourbons, including corn, barley, rye and wheat. The small grains are malted in Minnesota.

He said they want to work with other farmers to expand the specialty grains that can be used in breweries and distilleries.

"We worked with the University of Minnesota on hardy grains that will grow here and to get the flavors Jace is looking for," Gieseke said.

The distillery operation is based on a system called "terroir," a French term that describes how different areas can produce crops with unique qualities and flavors.

"We're a little unique in growing our own for the distillery," Marti said. "The flavors from what we grow here will be different from anywhere else in the world."

Area customers will have to wait a while to sample those flavors. "We will age all our whiskey for at least two years," Marti said. When they start serving their own whiskey in about a year and a half, they will use only 20% of their spirits each year, allowing the rest to continue to age.

But by late winter or early spring, customers will be able to order rum, which the distillery is beginning to make and doesn't need to be aged.

For now they are sourcing their whiskeys from other distilleries.

Beyond the local ingredients, the whiskey they distill two days every week is put in barrels sourced from oak in Park Rapids.

"Minnesota-grown oak is unique because the growing season is shorter in Minnesota so the growth rings are tighter. You get a vanilla-forward flavor from those oak barrels," Marti said.

Marti said he and Gieseke enjoy learning about, growing and distilling grains that produce specific flavors.

"It's a lot of science and art. It's something I love doing," Marti said.

Impressive building

Jon Hansen, who owns a dog day care and boarding business in New Ulm, is a fan of the distillery, stopping by at times after his workday is over.

"Black Frost Distillery is definitely cool. The old fashioned is my favorite. Theirs is the best around in my opinion."

Hansen gets the bourbon old fashioned but Black Frost also has a rye option.

The distillery is in a large brick building at 201 1st St. that was built in 1916 and most recently housed New Ulm Wholesale Inc.

Hansen said they did a good job converting the space for the distillery and cocktail lounge.

"From the outside it looks like an old, historical warehouse or something. But you come inside and the widows bring in a lot of light, and it's very welcoming. They have a patio, which is nice in the summer and fall," Hansen said.

Community support

Marti and Gieseke are 50-50 partners in the distillery, but they also sold Class B stock to raise additional capital.

"We wanted $2 million of Class B owners," Gieseke said. "We went out and talked to people and there was word of mouth and we did tours and talked about our business plan," he said of finding investors.

There was a minimum investment of $50,000 for stocks and the founders ended up selling stock to 34 investors, many from the local region, but also from elsewhere in Minnesota and in other states.

Gieseke said they've been getting customer support from the New Ulm and Mankato areas as well as visitors from Le Sueur and Belle Plaine.

"We love the community support we've been getting," Gieseke said.

The distillery plan has been in the works for a few years, with the opening delayed by the pandemic.

While Marti has a background in brewing, they went to other distilleries to learn more about the process.

The distillery offers both on-sale and off-sale.

"At some point we intend to be wholesale in liquor stores and in bars," Gieseke said. "And we'll do some one-off things, maybe gins and brandies."

There are about 30 distilleries in Minnesota, mostly in the Twin Cities area, with Chankaska Creek in Kasota and one in Waconia being the nearest.

"Most are small craft distilleries just selling their product at their site," Gieseke said.

"It's been going very good so far," Marti said of the cocktail lounge.

"We're going to be offering some elevated cocktails and be creative and eventually have our own releases."

The barrels of whiskey are being stored on the second floor of the distillery building, giving them about two years' worth of space.

"At some point we'll need more room for storage," Gieseke said. "We're producing about 700 barrels of whiskey a year."