Freeland Spirits

01 — Project Details

As one of the very few women-owned and run distilleries in history, Freeland Spirits has a great story to tell. During a brand refresh, I was brought on to tell it in a way that honors their roots and celebrates their farm-to-bottle approach. The project scope included taglines, refreshed site copy, and of course, copious amount of product research. 

00 - Topic

Meet the Woman Behind the Name

Meemaw Freeland (That’s what they call grandmas in Texas) was founder Jill Kuehler’s grandmother and the inspiration behind Freeland Spirits. A fiercely independent woman, Meemaw didn’t care much for limits—or shortcuts. Ironically, she didn’t care much for booze either.

So how did the granddaughter of a teetotaler end up naming a distillery after her? It all comes back to their shared love of the land. In fact, Jill's some of favorite childhood memories were of running wild in Meemaw's abundant garden.

In the years that followed, Jill helped plant community gardens in Guatemala, then moved to Portland to run a nonprofit farm. It was fulfilling work, but she was eager to build something of her own. Something that connected to agriculture—and her love of whiskey. (See where we’re going with this?)

One fateful evening in 2016, Jill was throwing back whiskey with a good friend who raises grass-fed beef in Eastern Oregon. When Jill shared her dream of starting a distillery, her friend confided that she’d always wanted to produce grain on the ranch. If you make it, I’ll grow it, her friend said.  And with that, Freeland Spirits was born.