OUR STORY
Established in 1997, Ransom is celebrating 25 years as an alembic distillery, artisan wine company and vermouth house. Ransom juxtaposes many of the finest old world craft beverage traditions with creative innovation.
Heritage, craftsmanship and a deep respect for terroir are Ransom’s core values.
Located in the famed Oregon Willamette Valley - in the foothills of the Coastal Mountain Range, Ransom consists of a forty-acre
Organic Farm, vineyard and distillery. Barley has been planted
since 2008, and the first vines were planted in the spring of 2010. In keeping with Ransom’s commitment to sustainability and stewardship, our farm has been certified Organic since 2011 and the distillery received organic certification in 2021.
Ransom Wines & Spirits was founded by Tad Seestedt. Born and raised on a farm in the NY Finger Lakes, he later tried his hand at New York City living and corporate America and quickly realized that he missed the farm. So he ventured on the 2,000 mile journey west finding his way on the Oregon trail to a farm in Sheridan where he laid the foundation for a winery and distillery.
In 1997, Tad started distilling and single-handedly revived the 19th century era ‘Old Tom’ Gin (aged in barrel). In the process, he maxed out his credit cards in order to fund his passion. With the bank holding him 'Ransom' to pay back his debt, he thought the name appropriate for his continued pursuit.
Our Gin
Our Whiskey
Our mission is to remain true to the 'Ransom Way' which is based on 6 key principles:
1. Don't cut corners
2. Farm everything organically
3. Be good earthlings - stewards of the land (reuse and recycle
4. Be unique - using unconventional methods
5. Be meticulous - hands on (no robots) and focus on small batch production
6. Celebrate life in good health and good spirits
We distill our spirits in a hand-hammered, direct-fired French alembic pot still. We make all of the selective cuts by taste and smell - without the use of robots. Traditional distillation retains greater aromatic intensity and body from the raw materials we select with great care. We mash and ferment our base wort on site weekly in small batches, sourcing local and organic grains where possible and incorporating barley grown on our own farm.
