Badlands Distillery

There is history in the heart of the Badlands that speaks to the pioneer spirit. South Dakota bootleggers played their part in that American History. We couldn’t be producing our handcrafted distilled spirits today without the early work of co-owner Jim Herber’s five great uncles back in the early 1920’s and the days of prohibition.
The uncles found out the hard way that illegally distilling whiskey had its consequences. Federal revenuers caught up to them on Sears Creek in the Weta Basin after they had dismantled their still operation in the attempt to eliminate evidence; however, their efforts to destroy product evidence went a-much when after throwing their unplugged kegs of whiskey into the White River, the kegs floated instead of sinking. So, they waded out punching holes in the kegs which did disperse the alcohol into the river, but with a good amount ending up in a nearby river well. By chance, after stopping for a drink of water from that well it didn’t take long for a revenuer to realize what he was tasting and used the water sample as evidence to put ringleader, Great Uncle Joe in jail!
Having a family history of bootlegging and coming from a ranching community, we are unique in the sense that we have the knowledge of distilling and the ability to grow our own resource, corn. We further use locally sourced spun honey, jalapenos and other local ingredients to make our variety of flavors. This makes us a truly unique, handcrafted distilled spirit-producing company. An old Family Journal quoted Uncle Joe’s whiskey to be known as the “tastiest, most healthful & smoothest whiskey in all of South Dakota Territory.” We are privileged to present to you, Special Reserve, the original recipe handed down through the generations along with the addition of several new distilled spirits that we hope you’ll enjoy!
Operating today, our Ranch, located in the Weta Basin of the Badlands, is just a short distance from where the original distilling sting took place, so stop by our tasting room at located between Subway and Conoco at Exit 150 on I-90 for free samples, tours and a true taste of pioneer spirit.
Take home a bottle of authentic “Badlands Whiskey” and share it with your friends!

Author: Dirk Jahn