Fernweh Distilling Co

In the rolling hills above the Missouri River, in a town better known for Riesling than rye, four partners set out in 2017 to build a whiskey distillery from the ground up. Fernweh Distilling Co. sits on Schiller Street in Hermann, Missouri, a river town founded by German immigrants for its wine, and it has spent the years since proving that grain-to-glass whiskey can hold its own next to the vineyards.

History & Heritage

Fernweh Distilling Co. traces its beginning to 2017, when Andrew Weiss and three founding partners set out to build a distillery on their own terms in Hermann, Missouri. The name itself, a German word roughly translating to a longing for far-off places, fits a town built by nineteenth-century German settlers who planted the hillsides with grapevines and gave the region its wine-country identity. Fernweh brought a distilling tradition to that same soil, choosing to work grain to glass rather than sourcing finished whiskey to bottle under its own label. That commitment shows in how the founders describe their process: hand-selecting the grains that go into every mash bill, distilling on-site, and controlling the spirit from raw corn and rye through to the finished bottle. As of July 2026, the distillery remains owned and operated by Andrew Weiss and his original partners, the same team that opened its doors in 2017.

The Whiskey

Fernweh's bourbon starts with a mash bill built on Missouri corn, backed by a generous portion of Midwestern American rye and barley malt, all grain sourced entirely within the United States. The whiskey ages in charred Missouri oak casks for a minimum of two years before bottling. The Fernweh Straight Bourbon French Oak Finished Single Barrel takes that base spirit a step further, giving it an additional finish in toasted French oak that layers in extra spice and structure. The rye program follows a parallel path: hearty rye grain pulled from Midwestern American farmland, cut with limestone-rich spring water, and matured in charred Missouri white oak, bottled as the Fernweh Straight Rye Whiskey Single Barrel. Both whiskeys are true single barrel releases, never blended across barrels and never chill-filtered, with no coloring or flavoring added after distillation. Every spirit leaving Fernweh's stills is cut from what the distillers call the heart of the run, the cleanest, most refined portion of the distillate, a practice that shapes the vodka and specialty spirits alongside the whiskey. Beyond the aged whiskeys, Fernweh's lineup includes Wheat Whiskey, Young Bourbon, and Bourbon Mash Moonshine for those who want an unaged look at the distillery's base spirit, plus the seven-times-distilled, corn-based Stardust Vodka and the Wildflower Specialty Spirit, a corn spirit distilled with rose and chamomile flowers and rested in an ex-sherry cask.

Why It Matters

Missouri's whiskey identity has largely been built around Kansas City and St. Louis, so a working craft distillery in wine country like Hermann stands out. Fernweh's insistence on single barrel bottling, USA-sourced grain, and no chill filtration or additives puts real transparency behind the label, at a scale small enough that each barrel still carries its own character. For The Sentinel Room's Reserve Whiskey Library, Fernweh represents the kind of Missouri-grown craft production that rewards a closer look: a distillery working the full process itself, from grain selection through the cut of the heart of the run, rather than relabeling sourced spirit.

Visiting the Distillery

Fernweh's tasting room and gift shop are open to walk-ins Saturday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors who want to plan around a weekday can arrange a private tasting by appointment, making the distillery accessible whether the trip through Hermann falls on a weekend wine run or a quieter midweek visit.