Distilleries Worth Visiting: The Midwest (Kentucky Not Included) — 2026 Edition

Second installment of the series. Same rules as last time: Kentucky's out on purpose, and if a state doesn't have three real picks, I'm not going to pretend it does.

Indiana

• Hard Truth Distilling Co. (Nashville, IN) — A 325-acre destination property with a restaurant, live music, and ATV tours through the grounds. Drew over 400,000 visitors last year and was named Indiana Distillery of the Year in 2024. This isn't a quick stop, it's a day trip.

• Starlight Distillery (Starlight, IN) — Part of a seventh-generation family farm with an orchard and winery attached. Their Mizunara Reserve Bourbon won Best Overall Bourbon at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, which is not a small thing to win.

• Cardinal Spirits (Bloomington, IN) — Bloomington's first craft distillery, making the city's first bourbon from Indiana-grown grain.

Worth knowing: MGP/Ross & Squibb in Lawrenceburg supplies whiskey to a huge share of the industry, but it's not a visitor destination — tours are limited to trade barrel-selection appointments, not the general public. Good trivia, not a place to route a trip around.

Ohio

• Watershed Distillery (Columbus, OH) — Brought the first legally distilled bourbon to central Ohio since Prohibition, and the first Ohio distillery with its own restaurant attached.

• Echo Spirits Distilling Co. (Columbus, OH) — The tour here lets you pull your own barrel sample, plus a "bottle your own bourbon" option if you want to leave with something custom.

• M&O Spirits (Ashville, OH) — Named Craft Distillery of the Year in 2023. Worth a call ahead to confirm current tour hours before you build a trip around it.

Illinois

• KOVAL Distillery (Chicago, IL) — Chicago's first distillery since Prohibition, and one of the only ones using millet as a secondary grain. Over 100 awards, including recognition from Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible.

• Whiskey Acres Distilling Co. (DeKalb, IL) — One of only two certified on-farm craft whiskey distilleries in the country — the grain is grown on-site, not sourced.

• Chicago Distilling Company (Logan Square, Chicago) — Single malt and white whiskey from Illinois grain. Less documented than the first two, so confirm the tour schedule before you go.

Michigan

• Journeyman Distillery (Three Oaks, MI) — Housed in a historic factory building, one of the few certified-organic distilleries in the country, and a two-time ASCOT Distiller of the Year.

• Traverse City Whiskey Co. (Traverse City, MI) — A downtown "stillhouse" open to the public seven days a week, built around a 400-gallon custom still.

• Grand Traverse Distillery (Traverse City, MI) — One of Michigan's earliest craft distilleries, and an easy pairing with the Traverse City Whiskey Co. stop since they're both in town.

If you'd rather chase a farm story than a second Traverse City stop, swap in Iron Fish Distillery — Michigan's first farm distillery.

Wisconsin

• J. Henry & Sons (Dane, WI) — Third-generation seed corn farm making the only bourbon in the world from a specific heirloom red corn developed at UW-Madison. About as deep a farm-to-bottle story as this list gets.

• Whiskey Run Distilling Co. (New Glarus, WI) — Guided tours through the production area with an educational tasting attached.

• Great Lakes Distillery (Milwaukee, WI) — Milwaukee's small-batch pioneer, with a six-product flight as part of the tour.

Minnesota

• Brother Justus Whiskey Company (Minneapolis, MN) — Known for a proprietary "Cold-Peated" process that stands in for traditional peat smoke — genuinely distinct from what you'll find anywhere else on this list.

• O'Shaughnessy Distilling Co. (Minneapolis, MN) — More education-forward than most: whiskey blending classes and sensory sessions alongside the standard tour.

• RockFilter Distillery (Spring Grove, MN) — True grain-to-glass, growing their own grain in the Driftless Area. Heads up: tours run once a month, not daily, so plan around it.

Iowa

• Cedar Ridge Winery & Distillery (Swisher, IA) — Iowa's first licensed distillery since Prohibition, with a full grain-to-glass tour.

• Mississippi River Distilling Company (LeClaire, IA) — Sourced from area farmers, and the tours are free.

• Templeton Rye Distillery (Templeton, IA) — Built on a real Prohibition-era bootlegging story, with an on-site museum to back it up.

Missouri

• Holladay Distillery (Weston, MO) — The oldest distillery west of the Mississippi still on its original site, founded in 1856 and now a National Historic Landmark. The tour includes the original aging cave.

• Lionheart Whiskey Co. (Hermann, MO) — Housed in an 1848 building, with real recent momentum — three awards at the 2025 New York International Spirits Competition.

• The Union Distillery (St. Louis, MO area) — Nearly a decade making regional bourbon, recently opened up to the public with tours and a bar.

If you'd rather work the Kansas City side, J. Rieger & Co. and Tom's Town Distilling Co. are both well worth it — a different, more cocktail-bar-forward angle on Missouri whiskey.

Kansas

• Gunnar's Bourbon Company (Sedan, KS) — Wheated bourbon out of a historic hotel building in wheat country. Possibly relocating to Wichita, so confirm the address before you drive out.

• Wheat State Distilling (Wichita, KS) — Kansas-grain spirits running since 2013, tours by reservation.

Kansas is a two-pick state — and a quick warning: most "Kansas distillery" searches actually surface Kansas City, Missouri. Different state, already covered above.

South Dakota

• Badlands Distillery (Kadoka, SD) — Corn grown on their own ranch, near the actual Badlands. The strongest whiskey-specific story of the three.

• Black Hills Dakota Distillery (near Rapid City) — The first legal distillery in the Black Hills. Limited hours, Thursday through Saturday only.

• Deadwood Distilling Co. (Deadwood, SD) — Set in the historic gambling town, walk-in tastings. Worth knowing their lineup leans moonshine as much as whiskey.

South Dakota's list leans more "craft spirits with whiskey in the mix" than deep bourbon programs — worth knowing before you plan a dedicated whiskey trip around it.

The states I'm skipping this year

Nebraska and North Dakota each have exactly one real pick — Brickway Brewery & Distillery in Omaha and Proof Artisan Distillers in Fargo — and neither state has enough behind that first name to call it a trail. Both are genuinely worth a stop if you're already passing through, but I'm not going to manufacture two more names to round out a list that isn't there yet.