The sprawling 29-acre farmland that makes up Song Dog Farm Distillery in Boyds is nearly a decade in the making by a couple with a dream.
Up a gravel driveway off Route 28, the kosher distillery is part tasting room, part production facility and part farm. Song Dog sells bourbon, rye whiskey, vodka, gin, liqueurs and ready-to-pour cocktails.
Key takeaways
- The bigger picture: Song Dog Farm Distillery in Boyds, Maryland, is a kosher, farm-based distillery approaching its first anniversary, founded by David Harris and Megan Draheim after nearly a decade of planning.
- More details: The 29-acre property produces bourbon, rye whiskey, vodka, gin and liqueurs using largely locally sourced ingredients, and has already won five medals in the 2026 American Craft Spirits Awards, including gold for its straight rye whiskey.
- Why this helps: As one of the only certified kosher distilleries around, Song Dog has become a go-to spot for celebrations within the local Jewish community and beyond, with visitors able to tour the production facility and sample spirits in its 45-seat tasting room.
A majority of the ingredients are locally sourced, according to co-founders David Harris and Megan Draheim, with the goal of resurrecting Maryland-style rye. They work with a farmer on the opposite side of Montgomery County to grow red corn and rye. The barley comes from a malthouse in Carroll County.
“We’re a big believer in local flavor,” Harris says.
Inside the 45-seat tasting room, a large glass panel allows visitors to see a room full of distillery machinery. Oak barrels from floor to ceiling hold many combinations of spirits, which visitors can see firsthand through guided tours.
“We hope that people feel like they’re at the intersection of the magic of distillation that’s happening right there and the beauty of American agriculture that’s surrounding us,” Harris says. “We want people to know that they’re not just in a bar.”
The distillery, which opened its doors in fall 2025, is approaching its first anniversary in business.
“It’s been an exciting year with so many great surprises and positive feedback from the community, and it’s been wonderful seeing our spirits accompanying people during moments of celebration and joy,” Harris told Montgomery Magazine.
Though only a year old, Song Dog had been in the works for a decade.
The couple had long been interested in spirits, spending their vacations visiting distilleries around the world, including in Scotland and Ireland. It was at a tour of a small Michigan distillery where “it all clicked,” Draheim says.
“By the time we got back to the airport, we were Googling ‘How to start a distillery,’” she added.
“We started with Scotch. We made two visits to Scotland, and across a couple dozen distillery tours, we felt like we could do the tour ourselves,” Harris says. “We researched and did our own reading about processes and different yeast strains … so I think that’s what got us hooked.”
They then branched into American whiskey and “fell in love with it,” according to Draheim.
Harris and Draheim were not yet part of the food and restaurant industry. Draheim, a conservation ecologist, was teaching at Virginia Tech, and Harris worked in Jewish communal politics.
“The joke is that politics drives you to alcohol,” Harris quipped. “I enjoyed it. I felt like I made a great difference, but I felt that 20 years was plenty, so I was honestly casting about for the next thing to do.”
That “next thing” in early 2015 involved attending workshops, conferring with consultants and planning. Then, they brought on engineers and five legal teams that specialize in different aspects. “Opening a distillery is incredibly complicated,” Draheim says.
In 2020, Harris and Draheim owned a building in Rockville — at the time, Montgomery County didn’t yet allow farm distillery licenses. They were sidelined by the pandemic just before opening.
“For several months, we didn’t know what to do,” Harris recalled, adding that he had all the equipment, but nowhere to put it.
Their answer was a property in the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve, a zone of protected farmland designated in 1980 by the County Council. The rest is history.
Harris spoke to the “great support” the business has already seen within Montgomery County, especially within the Jewish community — Song Dog is unique in that all of its products are certified kosher. Local alcohol and beverage stores have added Song Dog spirits to their kosher sections.
“It’s been great to see people looking there for our products,” Harris says. “I’ve found it tremendously gratifying to see our spirits crop up at the … weddings and anniversaries of our friends and our friends’ friends and our friends’ families. There’s nothing better than to see people responsibly using our product to magnify a wonderful happy occasion.”
Community members celebrate with Song Dog spirits at outside events, but Harris and Draheim also get to witness the joy at the distillery.
“Originally, we had planned to be mostly production, and then that eventually changed, and we were going to incorporate more of a bar — not just a small tasting room, which is what we ended up with,” Draheim says. “One of the nice things about that is getting to see people celebrate here.”
Their tasting room has served as the backdrop for an engagement party, birthday parties, wedding brunches and “everyday good times” with friends.
“That’s been this sort of unexpected delight that’s become much more meaningful to us than I think either of us thought it would,” Draheim says.
Their products have also gained recognition in national competitions. Song Dog took home five medals in the 2026 American Craft Spirits Awards, including one gold for its straight rye whiskey.
The Boyds distillery won a silver medal for its straight bourbon whiskey in the American Craft Spirits Association’s 2025 Heartland Whiskey Competition and four silver medals in the inaugural Kosher Spirits Awards for its gin, amaro, elderflower liqueur and orange liqueur.
“It’s still a little surreal,” Harris says of the business’ success.
Harris and Draheim work to ensure that their business is environmentally sustainable.
“We’re being thoughtful about stewardship of the land and returning the water that we’re using back to the aquifer that’s beneath us,” Harris says. “It’s all about being present and mindful about what we’re doing. This is an expression of our values.”
The couple says they look forward to soon selling their products in D.C. and Baltimore, and directly to consumers online.
“We’re hoping eventually to have an orchard here, so we can make brandy and pour some of our botanicals here,” Draheim says. “We have big plans for the farm in the future.”
“We’ve loved welcoming people to Song Dog and seeing our farm distillery through their eyes, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for our second year,” Harris says.
