Photo by Mike Lamb Mike Pfeil of Lewisville checks out the products on display by Panther Distillery during the Made In. Minnesota Festival at the Red Baron Arena Saturday.

MARSHALL — Mike Pfeil of Lewisville held the small tasting glass of whiskey from the Panther Distillery table inside the Red Baron Arena. He gently swished the gold-colored liquid a couple times and then took a sip.

He paused while staring down at the whiskey for a few seconds before speaking.

“Good flavor,” he said.

Pfeil was attending the Made in Minnesota Festival on Saturday that featured 40 different vendors showcasing liquor products made in Minnesota. For the first time, spirits from Minnesota distilleries were on display for taste testing.

Pfeil was tasting one of the whiskies from the Panther Distillery table.

“We do whiskey and bourbon flavored whiskey. We are Minnesota’s first legal distillery,” Amanda Thurk said. She is a distiller assistant with Panther Distillery, which is located in Osakis.

“We started in 2011, so we’re the first. We do 100% Minnesota-made products, so all our grain is grown within a 30-mile radius of our distillery. So everything’s 100% local. We use real apple juice, real maple syrup, real honey,” Thurk said.

She said the distillery is “doing great” with sales.

“Minnesota really supports their Minnesota products,” Thurk said. “Since 2020, distilled industry has seen a massive uptake. Everybody is trying to make bourbon. We made gin and rum for a little while, but it wasn’t our passion. Our master distiller and our owner’s big passion is bourbon and whiskey.”

Pfeil wasn’t the only festival goer enjoying the Panther whiskey.

“That was really good,” Marshall resident Zach Stelter said. “I think the cool thing about this year, than the other years, there are a lot of distilleries. (It) brings in a lot more people than just the beer drinkers.”

There was plenty of wine products as well at the event.

Jenny Heinrich from Walnut Grove was working the Winehaven wines table.

Heinrich said the winery is located in Chisago Lakes and features fruit flavored wines that are made from all natural fruit — no artificial flavoring.

“Honey mead is actually made. They have the bees at their site. Actually, that is why the (owners) couldn’t come today. They were cutting the combs from the bees,” Heinrich said. She said that is why little bees are on each label on all the bottles.

“They won the gold medal at the 2025 National Mead convention. So this one’s (Stinger Mead) like the best mead for the year in the United States,” Henrich said. “It’s a family owned company. They have a beautiful winery over there (Chisago Lakes). There are different combinations like honey.”

Cody Halborson from Holland, Minnesota, was manning the God Bless Vodka table. Halborson is a military veteran and co-owns the company with another military veteran.

“It’s a veteran owned, veteran operated martini. So it comes ready to drink and just crack it open and your off to the races,” Halborson said. “We are based out of Williston, North Dakota, but we have ownership here in Minnesota. Both veterans, both deployed together.”

They bought the company from ownership that was struggling with the product, Halborson said.

“We fell in love with the product,” Halborson said. “I think everything is kind of a gamble when you’re talking about it. We felt it was too crazy not to do it.”

Michael and Crystal Klumper from Boyd took a break from all the tasting and found a table to stand at.

“He’s done a lot of beers and I have done a lot of wines,” Crystal Klumper said.

“A lot of them have been pretty good,” Michael Klumper said. “And it’s nice to see Minnesota vendors. Support the state.”

Paul Anderson and Ron Sik, both from Montevideo, got into the spirit of the festival by wearing tiny plastic beer mugs and wine glasses fastened to their beards.

“I have been here in the past,” Anderson said. “I’ve always enjoyed the wine and beer. My wife is a wine drinker. I’m a beer drinker. This year I like the vodkas with the distilleries here. I think it’s kind of cool they are all here. I like trying different breweries. That way while I’m out traveling across the state, I’ll stop at some of these places I see here today and try it out.”