45th Parallel Distillery
Short overview of the distillery
45th Parallel Distillery in New Richmond is a family-owned craft distillery that produces small-batch spirits following the grain-to-glass principle. The distillery combines traditional, slow distillation with locally sourced ingredients and runs a restaurant, a cocktail lounge, an event center and several public venues, including a tasting room in Baileys Harbor.
History
The history begins around 2005, and already in 2007 the company was mentioned as one of about 50 American craft distilleries. Since then, 45th Parallel has grown significantly: they describe threefold growth and today operate with four active stills, daily production and expanded facilities. In addition to the headquarters in New Richmond, there is expansion into new locations, and in 2026 a new tasting room in Baileys Harbor opened to bring the spirits and cocktails closer to visitors in Door County.
Raw materials and production
Production is built around locally grown grain from Rusmar Farm and other Wisconsin growers; the distillery practices grain-to-glass. They work in small-batch series and use traditional, slow distillation. The facility includes four active stills and a barrel aging house on site. In addition to their own products, they offer full contract production and private-label services and can produce a wide spectrum of spirits such as whiskey, bourbon, vodka, gin, aquavit, liqueurs, rum and brandy.
Maturation and barrel types
Aging takes place in an on-site barrel aging house. The material notes barrel-aged products and specifically a barrel-aged gin, which shows that experiments with cask aging are used for several types of spirits. The local aging capacity makes it possible to follow small batch development in the barrels over time.
Whiskeys
The range is broad and includes bourbon, rye, whiskey, vodka, gin, aquavit and liqueurs such as limoncello as well as barrel-aged variants. Two names, Border Bourbon and Richmond Rye, appear in communications and in collaborations with bars. The distillery's spirits are presented both as bottled sales and in cocktails and flights in cocktail lounges and tasting rooms.
| Whiskey | Type / Series | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Border Bourbon | Bourbon | Current; Core range |
| Richmond Rye | Rye | Current; Core range |
General flavor profile
Visit the distillery
The public can book a 90-minute guided tour with tastings of the house spirits and access to the cocktail lounge afterward. Tours are held in small groups (maximum 15 participants). Visitors must be 21 years old to participate; private tastings can be arranged, and guests are encouraged to arrive 15 minutes early and to dress for the weather due to short outdoor sections.
The listed opening hours are New Richmond lounge & retail: Wed–Thu 11:00–21:00, Fri–Sat 11:00–22:00, Sun 10:00–17:00; Baileys Harbor tasting room: Mon–Sat 12:00–22:00, Sun 11:00–18:00.
Philosophy and craft
45th Parallel highlights family ownership, local roots, and a grain-to-glass approach. They practice traditional, slow distillation without shortcuts, prioritize small-batch production and, at the same time, offer contract distilling as part of their business model.
Latest news
Where to Find 45th Parallel Spirits in Duluth, MN This Summer – 2025-06-17
Blog post from June 2025 summarizes local spots in Duluth where 45th Parallel spirits such as Border Bourbon, Richmond Rye and Barrel-Aged Gin appear in cocktails and on menus.
45th Parallel Distillery Opens New Tasting Room in Door County – 2026-06-20
Announcement of the grand opening of a new Distillery Tasting Room in Baileys Harbor with cocktails, flights, outdoor seating and the opportunity to purchase bottles of the house’s spirits.