Minnesota’s Premier American Whiskey
Brother Justus Whiskey is crafted with conviction, precision, and relentless pursuit of flavor that reveres the land it comes from. The name honors Minnesota’s rebellious, bootlegging monk who believed that good whiskey – expertly made – is worth fighting for.
The Pursuit is the Point
Most whiskey is made to fit in a category. But we make whiskey to follow the flavor.
Some of the hot, new whiskey out there was born out of boredom, or built to ride a trend, something new that’s been designed and marketed to appear old-timey and authentic.
Not ours.
Brother Justus starts with belief and embodies commitment to flavor, no matter the cost. Our product is the result of years of research, thousands of fermentations, zero shortcuts, and deep connection to purpose through the storied life of the founder.
Brother Justus radiates conviction and a hint of defiance.
Quality Over Category: A manifesto penned by our Founder about the freedom to innovate and the belief that flavor should always lead.
Our Namesake
Brother Justus Trettel was a real-life bootlegging monk whose copper stills and teaching of the craft of making good whiskey lifted families out of poverty and made Minnesota whiskey world-famous. He believed that while whiskey was illegal, it wasn’t immoral. He also believed that they had a responsibility to make it right. He defied Prohibition because of his commitment to something bigger and more meaningful. Because of him, thousands of family-operated distilleries were making the only branded whiskey of Prohibition: Minnesota 13.
The hammer in front of the sun disc on our label represents the light he cast in dark times. Through the clarity of his vision, the discipline of his craft, and the strength of his labor. It's the light we try to cast, too.
Learn more about Brother Justus and the history of whiskey making in Minnesota on VinePair!
Made From Minnesota™
Our product is inspired by Minnesota’s landscapes, the only place in the world where distinctive biomes perfectly converge for making whiskey.
-
The Mississippi Headwaters
Sourced <1 Mile from Brother Justus Whiskey Co.
The Mississippi River cascades over limestone bedrock between its headwaters in Lake Itasca and our distillery in Minneapolis. The water has an ideal pH and mineral balance for distilling the purest whiskey.
-
The Great Plains
Sourced 29.5 Miles from Brother Justus Whiskey Co.
With the deepest topsoil on earth, the tallgrass prairies of the eastern Great Plains cultivated barley for centuries. Our barley is malted in Minnesota at the Western Hemisphere’s largest malt house, Rahr Malting in Shakopee.
-
The Eastern Hardwood Forest
Sourced 81 Miles from Brother Justus Whiskey Co.
Minnesota’s dense broadleaf forest is home to the world’s coldest oak™. Extreme winters and sweltering summers push the oak to pack itself with vanillin, tannin, and sugar, which makes for whiskey barrels that impart unmatched depth and character.
-
The Boreal Forest
Sourced 125 Miles from Brother Justus Whiskey Co.
Minnesota has over 6,000,000 acres of bogs rich with ancient peat, more than both Scotland and Ireland, combined. Minnesota peat contains flavors that began forming at the end of the Ice Age 10,000 years ago, as glaciers traveled southward.
Our Founder & CEO
Phil Steger
For Phil Steger, creating whiskey and building a distillery has always been about more than a flashy bottle and and an incredible product — it’s about conviction, belief, and possibility.
Award-Winning American Whiskey
No Fake Flavors.
No Shortcuts.
Our American Whiskeys showcase the depth of flavor possible using 100% two-row pale ale malted barley and aging in Minnesota White Oak barrels, made from the world’s coldest oak™.