North Shore Distillery: 20 Years of Delicious Local Spirits

Since its founding in 2004, North Shore Distillery has been a dynamic, creative and delicious addition to the local community. Evolving from a tiny distillery into a well-known regional operation, they have grown and learned a lot in the past two decades. The distillery's founders and owners, Derek and Sonja Kassebaum, will share a bit of their history and story, as well as some of the biggest challenges and successes they've encountered so far in their evolution. As a distillery, they'll probably bring a long a morning cocktail sample to share, as well.

Derek Kassebaum
Master Distiller, Co-Founder & Co-Owner
Derek is a chemical engineer and an entrepreneur at heart. At North Shore Distillery, he leads our distilling program, including all fermentation, distillation, blending, bottling and packaging, as well as managing and overseeing our supply chain. Over the years, he has experimented wildly, and is one of the most knowledgeable people around about grains, herbs, spices, fruits and distilling them. He has led seminars with scientists of many disciplines, as well as herbalists and others who use these base materials in other ways. Derek designed every aspect of the distillery’s manufacturing process, and loves the process of layering and building flavors and smells through infusion, distillation, aging and blending. He is the creative force behind all of North Shore Distillery’s amazing spirits. 

Sonja Kassebaum
Chief Cocktail Nerd, Co-Founder & Co-Owner
Sonja is a former (recovering?) lawyer, and also a cocktail lover. At North Shore Distillery, she leads our marketing, sales and distribution programs, and oversees the distillery’s tasting room and cocktail bar. She has experimented exhaustively with a wide range of spirits, tools and techniques for making great cocktails. She wrote a cocktail blog for many years, has been featured in a wide range of national and regional publications, and has spoken to many groups about cocktails and spirits. She loves the process of layering and building flavors, and elevating a cocktail into an experience. 

Host:  Jeff  Soprani