From Field to Bottle: Our 2026 Harvest
Every bottle starts months before it's distilled — in the field, at harvest. A short diary of this year's crop, the weather that shaped it, and what it means for the spirit to come.
A spirit is a record of a year. Long before anything reaches the still, the weather, the soil, and the timing of the harvest have already decided most of what the bottle will taste like. Here's how 2026 went.
A cool, slow spring
The beets went in late after a wet March, and for a few weeks we worried. As it turned out, the slow start was a gift: a long, mild growing season let the roots build sugar gradually and evenly, which is exactly what you want for a clean fermentation.
Harvest week
We lift by hand in small lots so the beets can be washed and processed within hours, before any sugar is lost. It's slower and more expensive than machine harvesting, and it's the only way we've found to keep the wash this clean.
“You can't fix a mediocre harvest in the still. Everything good in the bottle was already there in the field.”
What it means for the bottle
An even, sugar-rich crop means a calmer fermentation and a more predictable distillation — which is a long way of saying this year's spirit should be a touch rounder and softer than last year's. We'll know for certain when the first runs are rested and ready.
We'll keep you posted here as the 2026 spirit comes off the still.