Harvester Distillery, Wisconsin Artisan Distillery

The Harvester Distillery will be an artisanal distillery located in or near Madison, Wisconsin. Small local and regional distilleries are beginning to pop up around the country, taking advantage of easing regulations and capitalizing off the same consumer shift toward local drinking as craft-beer brewers and small-scale wine makers. With our combined backgrounds in alcoholic beverage production and marketing, my partner and I believe we are in an excellent position to create a successful small distillery.
We will make a variety of high quality spirits that will incorporate uniquely Midwestern ingredients such as oats, wild rice and apples, giving the distillery an individuality and strong sense of place. The products will be recognizable enough to be enjoyed by fans of traditional Whiskey and Brandy, while being unique enough to stand out in the marketplace. Our product line will debut with an un-aged White Whiskey, then over the succeeding years we will introduce a mixed-grain Whiskey, an Apple Brandy, a Rye Whiskey, and a Malt Whiskey. We will begin by distributing our products in the Madison and Milwaukee areas, gradually expanding into all the major Midwestern markets. The choice of products and ingredients as well as the North Woods-themed branding should have a strong attraction to consumers in this region. We will focus our marketing and distribution efforts on consumers who already purchase premium spirits, as well as consumers of other small-batch, locally produced products such as craft beer and artisanal cheese.
Based on our estimates we have made it our goal to raise $400,000 to begin the business. Assuming a bank loan will require around a 60% loan-to-value ratio, we will need to raise $160,000 via independent financing. We are open to both debt and equity financing, and our projections predict a significant return on investment within five years.
If you would like any more information, or to see our full business plan, please let me know.
I hope you will be interested in working together to create this company,