A north St. Louis distillery’s sweet technique yields smooth whiskeys and brandies.
Nick Colombo, co-founder and finance manager of Switchgrass Spirits, a whiskey distillery in north St. Louis, says the business is founded on a simple premise: do business in a way that can bring a sense of pride. The distillery upholds this goal by supporting its community, using local materials and businesses, and making quality alcohol.
“The reason people choose to buy us over other whiskey is authenticity,” Nick says. “It’s the care we put into making whiskey different from corporate spirit companies, and we’re not shy about talking about that. We do very well with customers who care about how the liquor is made and what it tastes like more than the name that’s on the bottle and who is selling it. We’re not afraid to do things differently.”
The Switchgrass facility
For Nick and his cofounders, doing business proudly means supporting the community with like-minded local brands. Nick says the distillery works with local companies ranging from Honeymoon Chocolates, a bean-to-bar craft chocolate business, to 2nd Shift Brewing, a family-run craft brewer in St. Louis that creates new malts and collaborates with other breweries. Switchgrass’s spirits are crafted using midwestern ingredients, labor, and supplies whenever possible. And the Switchgrass name is also a nod to the native plants in the state. Deeply rooted to Missouri, the perennial switchgrass once swayed as far as the eye could see across the midwestern prairie. A single blade of switchgrass doesn’t look like much, Nick notes, but a field of them put together creates a beautiful landscape. The Switchgrass team likens its company to this prairie plant—tough, resilient, and made possible by lots of people coming together to make something special.
The business also finds pride in how it has been built with an employee-ownership model, where every fulltime worker owns equity. It’s a model inspired by New Belgium Brewing Company, a Colorado-based brewery the Switchgrass owners admire. Nick says everyone who works at Switchgrass gets a vote on major business decisions.
An elaborate process
Typically, distilleries use a sour mash process, which uses fermentation from a previous batch of liquor, due to its simplicity. However, Switchgrass’s liquor-making process for its bourbon, rye, and brandy is called sweet mashing, which uses new yeast in every batch. The Switchgrass method takes longer and is more expensive, Nick says, but it makes its whiskeys and ryes less acidic. “Ours is smoother,” Nick says.
Switchgrass Spirits recently earned a special designation: Bottled-In-Bond. To be labeled as Bottled-In-Bond, liquor must be a product of one distillation season by one distiller and can never leave the walls of the distillery. It must also be aged at least four years and bottled at 100 proof.
“Our Bottled-In-Bond whiskey and rye are amazing just on their own, neat or on the rocks,” Nick says. “They’re rich, complex, smooth, and flavorful, and it’s been so well received.” It’s been a goal to sell bonded products since the company’s inception, he says.
“We have been known and very well regarded for our young whiskey,” Nick says of the spirits they’ve distilled and sold since 2020. His fellow cofounders are Sarah Miller, who manages compliance and outreach; Kate Pogue, who manages accounts and marketing; and Patrick Grosch, who is head distiller. “We are in the best cocktail bars because bold bartenders want to use something nice but not necessarily expensive for high-end cocktails,” Nick says. “We fill that niche with our younger products.”
Where to find Switchgrass
Switchgrass products can be found in most Schnucks, Hy-Vee, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s grocery stores in Missouri, and major liquor stores, restaurants, and high-end bars in St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia, and Cape Girardeau.
Its apple brandy and its popular Gold Dust cocktail, made with 65-proof sweet-mashed bourbon, ginger, lemon, and local honey, are available year-round. Seasonal and limited releases include single-barrel and double-casked whiskeys.
Company representatives can also be found at popups, farmers markets, and storefronts in the St. Louis and Kansas City metro areas, where the staff love pouring samples and gauging customer feedback.
Visit Switchgrass Spirits in person at 6100 Idadale Avenue, St. Louis, where distillery tours are offered on select Saturdays. Tour sign-ups can be found at SwitchgrassSpirits.com.
This article was originally published in the March/April 2025 edition of Missouri Life.
All images courtesy of Switchgrass Spirits.
