New Eastern Kille Distillery opens in Rockford

Food & Drink

Jan 30

Co-owners Steve Vander Pol and Brandon Voorhees outside the new building.
Photo credit: Geoff Shirley

Eastern Kille Distillery has opened its new $4.2M distillery, cocktail bar, and restaurant in Rockford. Located at 7755 Childsdale, the new facility sits on a 16-acre field and forest adjacent to the White Pine Trail.

The larger space and new equipment allow Eastern Kille to nearly triple the amount of spirit production per year over the previous location on Ottawa Ave NW.

“We’ve had over 6,000 people through our doors in less than 30 days. We’ve already expanded our days and hours to meet demand,” said Steve Vander Pol, co-owner, Eastern Kille Distillery. “We are grateful to our loyal customers from Grand Rapids along with new local customers that have come out to support us since moving to Rockford.”

Mathison | Mathison Architects designed the space with high ceilings and more production storage space. Customers will enjoy an expansive view of the natural setting through a glass curtain wall.

The new facility features 8,000 square feet of distillery space and 4,000 square feet of restaurant space, which seats 100 people. In the summer, they will seat another 100 people outside. The menu features primarily pizza and small plates.

Whiskey remains the focus for the distiller, and to celebrate the opening of the new location, they will release five unique bourbons in 2024, all finished in a different European cask. Each whiskey is over five years old between the initial aging and cask finish. Cognac and Vermouth cask-finished bourbons are the first releases in this limited series and are available at the distillery now. Oloroso Sherry, Apricot Brandy, and Tawny Port cask-finished bourbons will be released throughout the rest of this year.

Eastern Kille will release their first flavored vodka and a dry gin variant for summertime cocktails this year. This fall, they will have a cherry rye whiskey available for the first time and will bring back their Steenstra's Old Fashioned ready-to-drink cocktail. Their Espresso Martini ready-to-drink cocktail will return this spring and be available year-round.

Eastern Kille was named Michigan Distillery of the Year in 2020 and has won multiple double gold, gold, silver and platinum awards for their Straight Rye, Bottled in Bond Bourbon, Barrel Finished Gin, American Dry Gin, Aged Rum and Coffee Liqueur from the San Francisco Spirits Competition, SIP Awards, New York International Spirits Competition, Denver Spirits Competition and San Diego International Wine & Spirits Competition.

For more information, visit https://easternkille.com/.