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10,000 Drops bringing locally distilled alcohol to the region
10,000 DROPS
Business: 10,000 Drops Distillery What they make: Spirits including Silver Rum, Spiced Rum, Naked Whiskey, American Gin and American Gin - Barrel Reserve. Ownership: Childhood friends Jake Hvistendahl, Pat Jacobs and Rob Kruchoski. Address: 28 Fourth St. NE, Faribault, MN, 55021 Number of employees: Six, including two part- and four full-time workers. Annual sales: Approximately $300,000 in 2019, the only full year the business has been open since its founding in June 2018.
Dr ops
ABOVE: 10,000 Drops co-owner Jake Hvistendahl is partnering with Pat Jacobs and Rob Kruchoski to deliver locally made spirits to the area. (Sam Wilmes/southernminn.com)
By SAM WILMES samuel.wilmes@apgsomn.com
Even while 10,000 Drops Craft Distillers in Faribault navigates business restrictions caused by COVID-19, it plans to offer a wider selection of its locally made spirits in the years ahead. The distillery, located in a portion of the former Peterson Art Furniture Co. factory in the heart of the city’s downtown, now sells a variety of liquors, including silver rum, spiced rum, naked whiskey, American gin and American gin-barrel reserve. It expects to offer 13 varieties by the
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INSET PHOTO: Kenyon-based Crosswinds Farm supplies the grain 10,000 drops uses to distill their products. (Sam Wilmes/southernminnbiz.com)
LEFT: Alcohol-storing stills are kept in the upstairs portion of 10,000 Drops. Hvistendahl noted his establishment is expected to offer 13 varieties of alcohol by the end of 2022. (Sam Wilmes/ southernminnbiz.com)
Though 10,000 Drops was forced to cut its hours last winter during a surge in COVID-19 cases, co-owner Jake Hvistendahl anticipates foot traffic will only increase as more Minnesotans get vaccinated and the weather warms. (Michelle Vlas
Hvistendahl noted grain, used from Kenyonbased Crosswinds Farm, is fermented in a barrel for four years. He said that is longer than most breweries and ensures a high-quality product. (Sam Wilmes/southernminnbiz.com) end of 2022. 10,000 Drops has a well-appointed cocktail lounge that features oversize leather chairs and reclaimed architectural elements in the renovated 1886 building, as well as a patio, making it able to host events from birthday gatherings to corporate meetings and reunions.
The 2018 opening at 28 Fourth St. NE, however, came after nearly two years of hard work turning the historic building into a distillery. For months, co-owners Rob Kruchoski, and St. Olaf graduates Pat Jacobs and Jake Hvistendahl worked to transform the downtown Faribault building into their craft distillery. From removing walls to thousands of nails from the old
TOP RIGHT: The building that houses 10,000 Drops was built in 1917 and was remodeled a century later. The distillery opened in June 2018. (Sam Wilmes/southernminnbiz.com) LOWER RIGHT: Though Hvistendahl noted business levels have dropped since the pandemic, he expects that to improve as summer nears and more people become vaccinated. (Sam Wilmes/southernminnbiz.com)
building, the trio worked tirelessly to bring their business to fruition.
Today, 10,000 Drops receives its grain from Kenyonbased Crosswinds Farm. The grain is barrel fermented for four years, a process Hvistendahl said is longer than most distilleries and ensures a high-quality product.
The business employs six workers: two part- and four fulltime employees.
In 2019, 10,000 Drops made approximately $300,000 in revenue during the only full year the distillery has been completely operational. Though Hvistendahl noted 10,000 Drops was forced to cut back its hours last winter during a surge in COVID-19 cases, he anticipates foot traffic will only increase as more Minnesotans get vaccinated and the weather warms.
Reach Associate Editor Sam Wilmes at 507-645-1115. © Copyright 2021 APG Media of Southern Minnesota. All rights reserved.
