A job transfer led Mike and Amy Orlando to the Quad Cities, where they toured a local distillery and began volunteering there.
The owners encouraged the couple to open their own distillery — just not in the same town.
That led the Orlandos back to Geneva, which uses reverse osmosis to treat its water thanks to a new plant that opened in 2008, a plus because water is integral to the distilling process. After more than two years spent to obtain the necessary licensing, Fox River Distilling Co. became a reality in 2014; it opened to the public in 2015.
Starting a distillery takes patience.
“Products can take two years. We’re only one or two who do it in this area. Everyone wants to get going,” Mike Orlando said.
Fox River Distilling produces premium handcrafted artisan spirits using traditional distilling methods. Locally sourced ingredients like malted barley, corn and rye hail from a 25-mile radius for small-batch production of vodka, gin and bourbon.
Amy Orlando says she is proud of what they’ve accomplished in three years. “People say on the distillery tours that Mike is really good. He gives just enough knowledge and explains in layman’s terms. When you grow you have to keep that personalization.”
The distillery tours offered on the weekends are $10 per person and include tastings and a souvenir shot glass. First Friday tours are a free monthly open house with extended hours.
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Visitors learn that bourbon is aged in three different-sized barrels. “Flavor is determined on the day it’s mashed and over a period of time it gets better and better and better,” Mike Orlando explained on a recent tour. “‘Straight’ means two years. Once whiskey hits that, we can put that on the bottle. Age is why we tell people to sample.”
Local restaurants serving their food at the First Friday events are also asked to create a dish that uses Fox River products. At a recent First Friday, Cotta A Legna used vodka in its rigatoni with meat sauce and Dainty Delights, one of the vendors at Sweet Natalie’s Gluten Free Bakery, provided a dessert.
“We like using gluten free because that way we know everyone can eat it and it’s an opportunity to promote their business,” Amy Orlando said.
On the tours, visitors can sample award-winning spirits: Herrington Geneva’s Gin won the 2015 bronze medal and 2016 silver medal in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition; Bennett Mill Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey won the 2017 Best of Show and Best in State in the Heartland Whiskey Competition and a gold medal for best straight whiskey.
“When this happened, the phone started ringing off the hook,” Mike Orlando said.
The Orlandos hope they can expand to a larger facility. “We’re landlocked here and we’ve been wanting to do this, but … it’s all about money. But these awards are getting investors calling. We would not have considered it before but now, yeah, we are. It’s proven there’s a lot of demand for the product. We need to make more of it,” he said.
“We wrestle with these feelings every day. It’s investing in the next step. It’s emotional,” Amy Orlando said.
The Orlandos still work their day jobs, Amy in assisted living and memory care, and Mike in food service. “We do a lot of our work here at the end of the day and on the weekend,” Amy Orlando said. Fortunately, the place is in good hands with their assistant distiller, daughter Jennifer.
“We’re empty nesters, but we’ll press Jenny and the three other kids into service when they’re in town,” Mike Orlando said.
The distillery has benefited from Geneva tourism and contributes to the region’s success, the Orlandos said.
“We shop local and the local community supports us so much, from the bars to the van operators (from local hotels),” Amy Orlando said. “We’re the official vodka of Herrington Inn and we’ll say they’re our approved hotel. Their van driver talks it up. Pheasant Run’s concierge sends people here. We’re a first stop before people come into Geneva.
“On the Fridays and Saturdays when we do tours we’ll have people come and ask where we suggest they eat. I’ll make some calls and make dinner reservations while they’re on the tour. It’s a nice little extra value. For Valentine’s Day I was able to get two reservations for a couple who came to visit.”
A party is planned Nov. 3 for the distillery’s third anniversary. “The first year we were here we had over 400 people. It was mayhem. Then nearly 300 people last year,” Amy Orlando said. “We went with Eventbrite for tickets and people started lining up outside the door. So Mike and I went out and shook everyone’s hand.”
Mike Orlando laughed. “And we could check their IDs!”
Like many small distilleries, Fox River uses volunteers to help finish the product at bottling parties. “We usually get 14 to 20 people volunteering from our email list of 800. These slots fill up in three to five minutes,” Amy Orlando said.
Volunteers are fed dinner and a cocktail. “They all line up as I make the cocktails, observing their personalities and matching them with positions like corking, putting the sleeve on the bottle, heat shrinking the sleeve,” she said. Her husband always completes the last step, filling the bottles.
The benefit to hosting bottling parties is twofold: “They’re all brand ambassadors. They can pick up a bottle in the store and say, ‘Look, that’s my work!’ and take ownership of it,” Mike Orlando said.
“We were walking down Third Street in Geneva and saw people wearing our T-shirts. On the back it reads ‘Bottling Crew ,'” Amy Orlando said. “They only get them from us and we know they contributed to our success.”
The bottling parties last about one hour and are based on when distributors give a 48-hour window, Mike Orlando said. “We always are making product. The distributors forecast what they need and we build to that.”
Shonda Talerico Dudlicek is a freelance writer for the Beacon-News.
Fox River Distilling Co.
Address: 214 Dearborn Court, Suite 110, Geneva
Opened: 2014
Number of employees on-site: 7
Website: www.foxriverdistilling.com
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