Song Dog Farm Distillery. 18100 Bucklodge Road, Boyds, Maryland.
Megan Draheim and David Harris describe themselves as “terroir evangelists.” And this fall, the couple are ready to spread the good word about local grains, farm-to-bottle spirits, and more with the opening of a 29-acre farm distillery and tasting room in Montgomery County.
Song Dog Farm Distillery, debuting Sunday, October 12 in Boyds, Maryland, houses a 5,500-square-foot distillery that plans to produce bourbon, rye, gin, vodka, and other liqueurs. It will also sell cocktails on site, using grains grown on the farm or from another farm in Montgomery County. Visitors will be able to enjoy tours, tastings, cocktail classes, and acres of land for strolling and picnicking.
While terroir is a widely talked about for wine, Draheim and Harris are passionate about the terroir of spirits too. “We believe deeply, in a sense, in the flavor of place,” says Harris. “We think the flavors of Montgomery county in our backyard—the heirloom corn and the special rye varieties that we’re using already—that these flavors just help us make innovative, outstanding, world-class spirits.”
The distillery is working with Danny Childs, author of Slow Drinks and founder of a company by the same name, to design their cocktail program, drawing on seasonal and local ingredients. The distillery will also offer low-alcohol and non-alcoholic cocktail options. As Harris says, “there’s no ginger ale with the cherry floating on top.”
Song Dog will sell some locally produced food on site, including cheeses, but will also invite in food trucks during busier times and encourage guests to bring their own snacks or picnics.
“One of the things we’re most excited about doing is being able to build community,” says Draheim. The kid- and dog- friendly distillery will offer programming toward that aim, ranging from short tours for the causal day-tripper to classes and more detailed tours for the spirit enthusiast.
The “Song Dog” name comes from Draheim’s work as a conservation ecologist. She runs a nonprofit called The District Coyote Project, which researches coyotes and educates area residents about coexisting peacefully with them. The word “coyote” means “song dog.” Boyds is also home to the distillery’s namesake animal, with the farm’s trail camera capturing coyotes in the area.
Draheim’s conservation ecology work has also inspired a focus on conservation and sustainability on the farm. “We’re returning as much water that we use as possible back to the ground. All of our spent grains—so the grains that were used in the distillation process—are going to be dried and sent to local farmers for feed, and we’re planning on restoring parts of the farm to more natural habitat,” Draheim says.
“This is a piece of land that we need to take care of so that it can take care of us,” adds Harris.
Song Dog’s opening will be the fruition of years of hoping, planning, and building. The pair spent years researching and crafting plans for their distillery, only to sell the property they were originally planning to build on due to pandemic-related setbacks. “I feel like everything has been an odyssey,” says Harris. “Every element has its own decade-long history of too many hours of study, and discussion, and iteration, and drawings and plans, and failure, and success.”
