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Why they matter: Du Nord’s cofounders connect whiskey entrepreneurship with partnership, openness about sourcing and responsibility to a community. Their story makes room for the work that happens outside the stillhouse.
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Chris and Shanelle Montana began Du Nord in Minneapolis in 2013. In a joint interview, they recalled building the business while navigating other jobs, a young family and financial pressure. Chris brought a background in law and homebrewing; Shanelle described her marketing work and the agricultural connections of her upbringing. Their account challenges the familiar image of a solitary founder doing everything. ReserveBar, interview with Chris and Shanelle Montana
A second account records that early vodka production used corn from Shanelle’s family farm. Whiskey became part of a broader spirits portfolio. This matters because a distillery’s route into whiskey may depend on other products, a tasting room, financing and people whose contributions do not appear on a bottle label. WSWA, interview with Chris Montana, June 9, 2021
In that 2021 interview, Chris described Mixed Blood whiskey as a combination of Du Nord’s own whiskey and sourced whiskey. He explicitly connected the name to transparency. The current product page describes Mixed Blood as a blend of straight bourbons; the earlier interview documents a particular stage of the product’s development, not an unchanging formula for every batch. Du Nord, Mixed Blood whiskey
For the Academy reader, the lesson is practical. Distilling, purchasing, selecting and blending are different activities. A producer can explain which it performs and still tell an engaging story about the result.
Their joint interview also describes responding to the upheavals of 2020 through food distribution and the development of a foundation. This adds another dimension to the biography: maintaining a company and supporting neighbors can become connected priorities. The story belongs to both founders and their team, rather than to a single public spokesperson. Chris and Shanelle Montana, joint interview
Their experience is relatable without being a universal business formula. Many readers will recognize the tensions between family responsibilities, limited resources and a project they care about.
Who supplied the grain, made the spirit, assembled the blend, secured the financing and brought the product to customers? Look for the whole collaboration.