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 As of 2017, Two Eagles Distillery became the first legal distillery in Mount Prospect, IL, a community just 20 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. Co-owners Jesse Zien, Matt Georgacakis-Nurre, and Aaron Johnson were resolved from the outset that their business would be local-focused, not only in sales but also in sourcing. In alignment with that commitment, their flagship spirit, 100 Mile Vodka, is made—as the name suggests—from organic wheat and rye grown within 100 miles of the distillery.
Grain sourcing was such a driving force for Two Eagles that they sought out area farmers to fuel the distillery during their planning phase, long before they’d made other business decisions.
“Local grain was difficult to find at first. A network of connections eventually led to Harold Wilken at Janie’s Farm. We secured that farm connection before we were even ready to start ordering. We were trying to confirm that making spirits with local grain here was possible.”
- Jesse Zien, co-owner & operations manager
Starting up the business required other somewhat uncommon steps, including getting approval from local government to open the facility, which meant amending the language of the ordinance that governs local brewery classifications to include craft distilleries. As Two Eagles was preparing for the public kick-off of their 100 Mile Vodka on March 17, 2020, the pandemic struck. They made a quick pivot, re-tooling that vodka into much-needed hand sanitizer to serve the Mount Prospect community. Doing so required registering with the FDA, quickly securing appropriate packaging, and developing safety protocols for the new inputs needed for the product, such as dangerous, highly-concentrated hydrogen peroxide.
 And while this new distillery on the block made a splash and earned a badge of goodwill by giving away the sanitizer to first responders and other essential workers, they also weren’t selling vodka (or anything at all). That is, of course, a recipe for disaster for a small business so they joined the leagues of many other food and beverage producers last spring and started a GoFundMe page to offset the cost of sanitizer production. In that way, the community was able to ‘return the favor’ for the more than 10,000 four-ounce bottles. “I’m glad we did it, but am really happy to be done with hand sanitizer,” Jesse said.
Over the past few months, they’ve finally begun sales of that 100 Mile Vodka they meant to launch last March, and have developed new innovations like bottled cocktails as well, which are packaged and sold to restaurants offering carry-out meals. “When someone purchases one of those bottled cocktails, they’re supporting the restaurant, the distillery, and local farmers, too.” A gin release is planned for summer, and their first batch of whiskey—currently aging in naturally-aged, Illinois white-oak barrels made by a local cooper—will be ready in the late fall. In addition to the wheat and rye they’ve been purchasing from Janie’s Farm, these efforts have added new crops like red corn and triticale, which they source from Will Glazik at Cow Creek Farm.
It might be surprising to learn, given the breadth of their work, that all three of Two Eagles’ co-owners are still holding down day jobs, dreaming of the day when this hobby will become their main gig. But they like staying active, a way of life that echoes back to Jesse and Matt’s Eagle Scout days that inspired their business name. Just don’t bug them about not being on Instagram—they’re focusing on the craft! In the meantime, you can follow their progress on their website and Facebook with the links below.
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