Pear in the Bottle - Black Star Farms

Black Star Farms is located in the Grand Traverse Bay area of Northern Michigan. This region is justly known for fruit cultivation fostered by glacially carved lakes and hills and a climate tempered by Lake Michigan. Our small specialty distillery operation began in 1999 on our farm in Suttons Bay. In 2007 we moved the still to our Old Mission facility and we began production of brandies again in 2008.

Our fruit-based brandies capture the essence of Northern Michigan fruit and they are generally known as eau de vie style spirits. Eau de vie (fruit brandy) is French for "water of life". The spirits are clear and represent the pure essence of fermented fruit. The balance of fruit and alcohol reflects both the artisan skill of the distiller and the quality of the fruit. The pear brandy is made from Bartlett pears from our neighboring Keswick Flats orchard. The resulting clear Pear and its Spirit delivers an explosion of succulent pear aroma and taste, rich flavor with a dry and elegant after taste.

How does the pear get in the bottle? In Spring, a bottle is tied over a budding branch in the pear orchard with hopes that a Bartlett pear will grow to maturity inside the bottle. The pear is harvested, cleaned and washed, and the bottle is then filled with pear brandy from the same orchard and hand labeled in this special limited presentation. The pear becomes calcified over time, and is not consumed. When the bottle is empty one can simply replace the spirit with our Spirit of Pear brandy.

Black Star Farms is celebrating more than 12 years as a popular Northern Michigan agricultural destination producing award winning wine and spirits. Our spirits can be sampled at any of our three tasting rooms in the Grand Traverse Bay region. Truly artisan-based products, our eau-de-vie spirits are an exquisite balance of fruit and alcohol that capture the essence of prime ripe fruit from our little corner of Northern Michigan.