Switchgrass Spirits

Switchgrass Spirits is a worker-owned grain-to-glass distillery in St. Louis, Missouri built around bottled-in-bond bourbon, rye, and apple brandy, where every employee holds equity and a vote in how the company is run.

A converted American Legion Hall in St. Louis houses stainless steel tanks, a hybrid pot-and-column still, and rows of Missouri white oak barrels. That is where Nick Colombo, his wife Sarah Miller, and head distiller Patrick Grosch began distilling in 2016, joined by Kate Pogue as part of the founding team. They started under the name Arcana Distilling, and in September 2019 officially became Switchgrass Spirits, the name under which the brand built its regional following. The company describes itself from the outset as an equitable, environmentally conscious craft distillery, and it backs that description with structure: every full-time worker at Switchgrass owns equity in the business and gets a vote on major decisions, not just the founders. Patrick Grosch continues to serve as Head Distiller, with Nick Colombo as Operations Manager, a role he has held since Switchgrass's inception.

History & Heritage

Switchgrass built its production philosophy around doing everything itself. Rather than buying sourced whiskey to bottle and sell, as many young American distilleries do, Switchgrass distills, ages, and bottles all of its own spirits using Midwestern labor and ingredients. The distillery uses sweet mashing instead of the more common sour-mash process for its bourbon, rye, and brandy, and pitches new yeast for every single batch rather than reusing a mother culture. Fermentation happens in closed fermenters at low temperature with agitation over roughly a week, a slower, more deliberate approach than the high-volume fermentation schedules used by larger producers. In February 2020, Switchgrass released its first aged and bottled cocktail, marking an expansion beyond straight whiskey and brandy into ready-to-serve products built on its own base spirits.

The Whiskey

Switchgrass's whiskey program centers on bottled-in-bond releases, a designation that requires spirit from a single distiller in a single season, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at exactly 100 proof. The Switchgrass Spirits Bottled In Bond Bourbon uses a 63% corn, 25% wheat, 12% malted barley mash bill, batch distilled and aged a minimum of four years in Missouri white oak. Its core Bourbon, bottled at 92 proof, follows the same grain-forward, wheat-and-barley-heavy profile without the bottled-in-bond aging minimum. The Switchgrass Rye Whiskey Bottle In Bond mirrors that same rigor on the rye side: 100 proof, sweet mashed, batch distilled, with a 76% rye, 12% wheat, 12% malted barley bill aged at least four years. A Double Cask Straight Rye called Millpond takes that base spirit and rests it an additional six months in stout casks after four years in Missouri white oak. The distillery also makes an 82-proof American Whiskey built from four grains: malted barley, red winter wheat, yellow dent corn, and pumpernickel rye. On the brandy side, Switchgrass Spirits Apple Brandy and its bottled-in-bond counterpart are both made from 100% single-orchard Jonathan apples, double distilled in an alembic pot still. In 2024, Switchgrass earned national gold medals for both its bourbon and its rye, recognition that validated the four-year commitment behind its bottled-in-bond releases.

Why It Matters

Switchgrass Spirits matters because it proves a worker-owned distillery can compete on process rigor, not just origin story. Sweet mashing, single-batch fermentation with fresh yeast every time, and a genuine four-year bottled-in-bond aging commitment are labor- and time-intensive choices that a shareholder-driven company might trim for margin. Switchgrass has kept them, and its 2024 gold medals for bourbon and rye are evidence the approach produces spirit that holds up against much larger competitors. The distillery's products have also spread beyond St. Louis into grocery stores, liquor stores, restaurants, and bars across Missouri, including Kansas City, giving it real regional reach for a distillery its size.

Visiting the Distillery

Switchgrass Spirits offers guided tours on select Saturdays at its 6100 Idadale Avenue facility, with advance tickets required. The hour-long walkthrough covers the company's history and production methods, includes a tasting of the full spirits lineup, including special releases, and ends with 10 percent off purchases made at the distillery that day.