Biosystems engineering senior Jamie Burns samples cider at Red Cedar Spirits, 2000 Merritt Rd., on Feb. 6, 2014. The distillery has produced batches of vodka better than high-end commercial competitors, according to Red Cedar Spirits distiller Ari Sussman. Casey Hull/The State News
After six months of renovations, the tasting room in Red Cedar Spirits is now, once again, open for business.
In July of 2013, the tasting room, located at 2000 Merritt Rd., was open with all permits issued when the city of East Lansing shut it down.
The tasting room invited residents to enjoy the spirits Thursday evening.
Kris Berglund, the director of MSU’s Artisan Distilling program, said the city would only allow the room to reopen after certain changes were made.
“It turns out, Michigan State University cannot have a commercial distillery by state law,” Berglund said. “So in order for us to have a program here, we had to come up with some other sort of vehicle and it is a public/private type partnership that we created.”
The company sells spirits, or high-proof liquors that come in rum, vodka, gin, whiskey and brandy, Berglund said.
At Red Cedar Spirits, the spirits are sold in 375 ml bottles, which is a half of a fifth.
The first liquors featured at Red Cedar Spirits include a rye whiskey, a barrel-aged apple brandy and a grain-based vodka.
The 45,000 sq. ft. establishment holds a tasting room, a classroom and a distillery. The classroom is used in both the spring and the fall for MSU classes and for public workshops.
The facility also remains open for tours throughout the year.
The workshops hosted by Red Cedar Spirits draw people from all over the country and in the past, people have even come all the way from Ireland and Canada to attend. The goal of these workshops is to teach people to make high quality products in the most efficient way.
“There are things that you can get in the tasting room that you really can’t go to the liquor store or bar to buy because they’re really more experimental products,” Berglund said.
Chemical engineering senior Stephen Peabody, a bartender in the tasting room, said Thursday’s event was geared toward establishing a new identity.
“This weekend is just about reestablishing ourselves,” Peabody said. “We’re just trying to get our name back out there. We’re trying out new things, trying to see what people want.”
Lifelong education student Kevin Coffey said MSU’s distillery program, which he left Kentucky to pursue, sets the school apart from all others.
“There’s a few schools that are trying to start distillery programs,” he said.
“I know UC Davis has one and it’s just not really on the level that we are here. The biggest still they have is probably smaller than our smallest still.”
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