Brothers Michael and Adam Kazanowski started distilling when a dream of busting into the business was fulfilled by meeting a distiller on the slopes in Colorado who took them under his wing.
Fast forward to today and now they have tasting room right in downtown Petoskey.
Michael and Adam, who are now 28 didn’t want to give up on the dream, so they moved into a van and traveled around the country selling their first product, Gypsy Vodka, which paid off and grew into what is now High Five Spirits in downtown Petoskey.
“We kind of realized possessions take a second hand to experiences and friendships so that’s what we wanted to put into the craft spirit industry. Everyone has kind of one dimensional, so oriented on being crafty and sophisticated, we’re like that’s not us, we’re out having fun, let’s make it a brand, it’s all about enjoyment of life,” said Kazanowski.
One part enjoyment of life, one part northern Michigan flair, and you have a recipe for High Five Spirits. They now have Petoskey Stone Gin made with local ingredients and soon will be distilling Mackinac Island Rum.
“We call our style a new Michigan style gin because when people come here and taste they’re like this smells like northern Michigan, that’s where we wanted it to go we wanted people to associate it with the good times,” said Kazanowski.
They have a mixology team that makes their own infusions and flavors in house to make signature cocktails like a vodkarita with pineapple jalapeno and the Jespersen’s an ode to the history of the building.
“We infuse the vanilla and blueberry for this martini with graham cracker crust. It’s pretty unique,” said Kazanowski.
In the end, with a local vibe and craft cocktails, they never forget their main mission, just to live the good, simple life.
“We want people, we want our whole story and whole brand to come alive in here, going back to the essentials of having fun and enjoying that moment,” said Kazanowski.
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