Michigan’s first farm distillery marks a decade with four-day Labor Day weekend celebration and a milestone year for its award-winning Mad Angler® whiskey series
THOMPSONVILLE, Michigan. — August 2026 — Iron Fish Distillery, Michigan’s first farm distillery, will celebrate its 10-year anniversary this Labor Day weekend with four days of live music, distillery experiences, family activities, anniversary traditions and special events at its 120-acre farm in Thompsonville, Michigan.
The Iron Fish Distillery 10-Year Anniversary Celebration, taking place Thursday, September 3 through Sunday, September 6, marks a decade since Iron Fish opened its doors with a vision to return spirit to its origin — growing grain, distilling whiskey and welcoming guests to experience the process firsthand on a working Northern Michigan farm.
Over the past 10 years, Iron Fish has grown from an ambitious idea at the end of a dirt road into an award-winning Michigan spirits brand and year-round destination, while remaining rooted in the land, water and community that inspired its creation.
“When we started Iron Fish, we wanted to create more than a distillery. We wanted to build a place that connected agriculture, craft, conservation and hospitality in a way people could experience for themselves,” said co-founder Heidi Bolger. “Ten years later, what means the most to us are the people who have been part of that journey — our team, our farmers and partners, our neighbors, and every person who has made the trip down our dirt road.”
“This anniversary gives us a chance to celebrate where we started while also looking ahead to what Iron Fish can become over the next decade,” added co-founder David Wallace. “We’re incredibly proud of the whiskeys coming of age on the farm, the relationships we’ve built across Michigan and the community that continues to support us. The best way we know how to celebrate is to bring everyone back to the farm and raise a glass together.”
FOUR DAYS OF CELEBRATION ON THE FARM
The anniversary weekend begins Thursday, September 3, with special Barrel Aging & Rickhouse and Farm & Distillery tours, live music from Stephanie Clark Harris & Vincenzo DeWald and Keith Scott, and an evening Iron Fish Alumni Mixer welcoming former team members back to the farm.
Friday continues with a full schedule of guided distillery and farm tours, handcrafted cocktails, wood-fired food and live performances from Alex Teller and The Nightcrawlers.
Saturday, September 5, will feature some of the weekend’s signature anniversary traditions, including a Mad Angler Confluence Box Raffle, Bagpipe Blessing of the Spirits, a live barrel raising with Joe of Croze Nest Cooperage, wagon rides with Fantail Farms and a 7 p.m. community toast. Live music will be provided by The Mix Drift and John Piatek.
The celebration concludes Sunday with distillery tours, Iron Fish Trivia, wagon rides, a children’s piñata and live music from Blair Miller and Bauer Jones. At 7 p.m., Bolger and Wallace will gather with guests to reflect on the first decade of Iron Fish and raise a glass to its next chapter, followed by anniversary cupcakes.
The weekend is designed for longtime Iron Fish supporters and first-time visitors alike, with opportunities to experience the farm, learn how Iron Fish spirits are made and celebrate the community that has supported the distillery since 2016.
MAD ANGLER®: A DECADE OF FARM DISTILLING COMES OF AGE
Perhaps no whiskey better represents the evolution of Iron Fish over its first decade than Mad Angler®, the distillery’s estate whiskey series.
Made with grain grown on the Iron Fish farm and sourced from select Michigan farms, then distilled and aged in Thompsonville, Mad Angler has become Iron Fish’s most decorated estate whiskey.
The series has earned recognition on national and international stages, including Double Platinum at the ASCOT Awards for Mad Angler 5-Year Batch #4, Best in Michigan at the ACSA Heartland Whiskey Competition and a Grand Prize at the 2026 Korea Wine & Spirits Awards.
The name Mad Angler is inspired by the work of Northern Michigan writer Michael Delp, whose words appear on the back of every bottle:
“Consider holding the wildness of a place in your hand, and then tossing it back, dreaming of rivers, wild fish, pure water, the spirit luminous inside you, allowed to roam where it wishes.”
MAD ANGLER® 2026 RELEASES
Mad Angler® Bourbon Batch #7
92 Proof | 750ml
Available in the Michigan market and for home delivery to 38 states.
Mash Bill:
70% Michigan Yellow Corn
16% Michigan Winter Wheat
9% Michigan Malted Barley
5% Estate-Grown Hazlet Rye
Mad Angler® Bottled-in-Bond Wheat Whiskey Batch #7
100 Proof | 750ml
Available at Iron Fish Distillery and select Michigan retailers.
Mash Bill:
51% Iron Fish Farm Winter Wheat
23% Northern Michigan Corn
15% Upper Peninsula Rye
11% Northern Michigan Malted Barley
Mad Angler® Bottled-in-Bond Rye Whiskey Batch #1
100 Proof | 750ml
Available at Iron Fish Distillery and select Michigan retailers.
Mash Bill:
60% Estate-Grown Hazlet Rye
30% Michigan Organic Yellow Corn
10% Northern Michigan Barley
Mad Angler® Heirloom Wheat Whiskey Batch #1
105 Proof | 750ml
Available beginning in October at Iron Fish Distillery and in the Michigan market.
Mash Bill:
70% Michigan Heirloom Corn
16% Michigan Wheat
14% Michigan Malted Barley
The 2026 Mad Angler collection represents years of work on the farm — from planting and harvesting grain to distilling, barreling and patiently aging whiskey in Northern Michigan. As Iron Fish enters its second decade, the expanding series demonstrates the distillery’s continued commitment to Michigan agriculture, estate-grown grain and whiskey with a genuine sense of place.
CELEBRATING THE NEXT DECADE
The Iron Fish 10-Year Anniversary Celebration runs September 3–6, 2026, at Iron Fish Distillery, 14234 Dzuibanek Road, Thompsonville, Michigan.
The four-day celebration includes guided distillery experiences, live music, food and cocktails, family activities, anniversary traditions and opportunities to meet the people behind Iron Fish.
For the complete anniversary schedule and event information, visit the Iron Fish Distillery 10-Year Anniversary Celebration page.
About Iron Fish Distillery
Established in 2016, Iron Fish Distillery stands as Michigan’s first full line farm distillery, cultivating grains, distilling spirits, and aiming to perfect the art of barrel-finishing sourced whiskey. This third party environmentally audited working farm and distillery attracts over 150,000 guests annually to the agricultural destination, reborn on a long-abandoned 120-acre farm located in rural Springdale Township in Manistee County.
Named for the Steelhead that journeys up the nearby Betsie River, every step of the Iron Fish soil-to-spirit process occurs onsite. The process starts in farm fields where the distillery grows and harvests its own grain. Milling, mashing, fermenting, distilling, barrel aging, and bottling is on full display for visitors. Iron Fish also carefully sources bourbon for finishing in barrels from around the world. To date, their library of aged spirits exceeds 2,500 barrels. In 2026 Iron Fish Distillery was named Michigan’s Most Iconic Liquor Brand by Tasting Table Magazine.
Iron Fish Distillery’s vision is to be a beloved legacy distillery
leaving the land and community a better place than they found it.
For questions about where to find Mad Angler® whiskey in Michigan, contact sales@ironfishdistillery.com.
