To express the region’s agricultural heritage, you will taste northern Michigan in a bottle of our cherry brandy. Made of just cherries mashed into juice, we add a little yeast to begin fermentation and distill it into a pure, clear, 80-proof spirit. Black Star Farms produces brandies from the best local apples, cherries, pears, plums, raspberries, and grapes.

Our distillery operation began in 1998 on our farm in Suttons Bay. Our fruit-based brandies are generally known as eau de vie-style spirits, a staple in some European countries. Eau de vie is French for “water of life.” These spirits are clear and represent the pure essence of fermented fruit. The balance of fruit and alcohol reflects the distiller’s artisan skill and the fruit’s quality. We also make barrel-aged brandies from apples and cherries that spend years in French and American oak and exhibit more whiskey-like complexities.

Our local fruit is some of the best in the world, and our distillation method retains the beautiful characteristics found in these fruits. At the precise time when the distiller feels it is optimum to showcase the “spirit” of the fruit, the brandy is bottled, often a single run or barrel at a time.