Sweet timing as Idaho honey distillery celebrates federal recognition of American single malt category

The timing couldn’t be sweeter for Randy and Hilary Mann, owners of UpNorth Distillery in Post Falls. Just as the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau officially recognized American single malt whiskey as a protected spirits category in December 2024, the couple’s decade-old distillery stands perfectly positioned to benefit from the landmark ruling.

The federal recognition, effective Jan. 19, 2025, establishes clear standards for American single malt whiskey production, a category that UpNorth has been pioneering since 2010 alongside their unique honey spirits program.

“We fall under that American single malt category for our whiskey,” said Hilary Mann, co-owner of the family-run operation. “The honey spirits don’t fall under that umbrella at all.”

That distinction makes UpNorth particularly unusual in the craft distilling world. While the federal government just recognized American single malt as an official whiskey category for the first time in more than 50 years, UpNorth has quietly been making headlines for something even rare. They are one of only a handful of distilleries in North America distilling spirits from 100% honey.

UpNorth Distillery is one of only six distilleries nationwide that manufactures spirits using 100% honey in the mash, a process that begins with mead production before distillation. The technique sets them apart from major brands that simply add honey flavoring to existing whiskey.

“There’s only a handful of distilleries in the world doing a true honey spirit,” Hilary said. “Most will make whiskey and then flavor it with honey. Sometimes people taste our honey spirits and ask, ‘Why can’t you call it whiskey?’ Well, the laws of identity say there is no grain in it, so we can’t call it whiskey.”

The genesis of an unlikely empire

The Mann family’s journey into distilling started with necessity and a stroke of luck. Randy Mann, a former power company lineman, faced back surgery and needed a career change that would be easier on his body. His home brewing hobby had evolved into whiskey-making, and after attending an American Distilling Institute class in Seattle, the couple decided to take the plunge.

“He came back and said, ‘OK, I think we can do this,’ and talked me into it,” Hilary said.

The honey component arrived by chance. When the Manns were sourcing equipment, they found a distillery for sale in Montana that included a substantial honey supply as part of the deal.

“The distillery was on an apple orchard, and he was actually making a honey spirit,” Hilary said. “He told us, ‘You have to take this honey. It’s the same price with or without the honey.’ So, we started experimenting with the honey and loved it.”

The path to opening wasn’t straightforward. Idaho’s complex liquor licensing laws proved particularly challenging for the upstart operation.

Idaho issues only one liquor license for every 1,500 people in a town, with Coeur d’Alene maintaining a 20-year waitlist.

“People that used to be able to buy them were paying $400,000 plus for a liquor license,” said Hilary.

Those restrictions forced the Manns to establish their distillery in Post Falls, on the outskirts of Coeur d’Alene, where licenses were more accessible and affordable.

The state’s regulatory framework initially limited what distilleries could offer customers. When the Manns first began planning their operation, distilleries without liquor licenses could only provide three quarter-ounce samples per person per day and couldn’t charge for them.

“You really can’t do cocktails with that,” Hilary said. “We really needed a liquor license so we can have people really taste them in cocktails and be able to do flights and tours.”

Fortunately, regulations changed just before UpNorth opened its doors in 2010, allowing for more generous sampling and the eventual addition of their signature cocktails.

From distillery to whiskey bar

Five years later, opportunity knocked again. After years on a waitlist, the Manns received word that a liquor license had become available in nearby Hayden.

“Randy and I talked and said, ‘well, it doesn’t really make sense to relocate the distillery. We’re already established here, but what about doing a whiskey bar?’” Hilary said.

The Bee’s Knees Whiskey Bar opened in December 2019, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Despite the challenging timing, the venture has thrived by offering both UpNorth’s unique spirits and an extensive collection of rare whiskeys.

The bar showcases more than 400 different bottles, including some of the world’s rarest whiskeys, such as a Double Eagle Very Rare that retails for approximately $3,000 on the secondary market.

“The cool thing about whiskey is, most places release a yearly rare release,” Hillary said. “So now that we’re five years old, we have, in most cases, five years of that version of whiskey. People love to try last year’s edition compared to this year’s edition.”

Looking ahead, UpNorth plans to capitalize on their unique position with several new product lines. The distillery has been working with local breweries on collaboration projects, distilling and aging various beer styles to create entirely new spirits categories.

“We have a peanut butter marshmallow stout that we distilled and it’s been aging for years,” Hilary said. “It’s delicious.”

The company has also expanded its reach through online sales, partnering with a Washington, D.C., distributor to circumvent Idaho’s restrictions on interstate shipping.

“We ship our product to them, and then people can buy it from our website, and then they ship it from Washington, D.C.,” Hillary explained.

The art of honey distillation

What makes UpNorth’s honey spirits particularly challenging to produce is the three-week fermentation process required to create mead before distillation can begin. Traditional whiskey uses a much shorter pre-made fermentation.

“There’s actually no rules of identity for honey because it’s so unique, and not very many people are doing it,” Hilary said. “There’s kind of two camps. Some think it should be 51% honey and then the rest could be grain. We’re not in that camp. We think if it’s a honey spirit, it should be 100% honey in the mash.”

The distillery sources its honey locally from Idaho producers, maintaining the “farm-to-flask” philosophy that guides their entire operation. Randy Mann still climbs trees himself during a narrow two-week window each year to harvest white pine cones for their signature Pine Liqueur, made from Idaho’s state tree.

“There’s only about a two-week window when the pine cones are purple and full of sap before they open,” Hilary said. “He climbs the trees, shakes them off, and then brings them back to our distillery and soaks them in our apple brandy.”

As the American single malt category gains federal protection and recognition, UpNorth’s combination of traditional whiskey-making and honey distillation positions them uniquely in the marketplace. Their decade of experience navigating regulatory challenges and building customer education around their unusual products has prepared them for expanded growth.

UpNorth recently earned multiple medals at the Honey Spirits Competition, the only competition of its kind that recognizes spirits made with honey, including a gold medal for their Barrel Finished Honey Spirits.

“We pride ourselves on being a true craft distillery,” Hilary said. “We don’t buy bulk spirits and put them in a barrel. We prefer to do everything by hand so you know exactly what you are drinking.”