“Spirits with a sense of place.” That’s how the 29-acre Song Dog Farm Distillery in Boyds, Md., markets its kosher-certified products. Indeed, the owners—Hadassah member Megan Draheim and her husband, Young Judaea alumnus David Harris—call themselves “terroir evangelists.”

Terroir, a term typically used for wine, also refers to grain varieties and the terrain and climate where the grains grow. At Song Dog, that means a dedication to using locally grown grains cultivated to the couple’s specifications and as many other locally sourced products as possible to produce their bourbon, rye, gin, vodka and seasonal liqueurs.

The sense of place is also apparent in the facility itself, where the tasting room features a glass wall overlooking the distillery with its custom-made copper still and oak barrels as well as views of the surrounding farmland.

“We want people,” Harris said, to see “the beauty of agriculture right outside the window and see the magic of the equipment.”

They also want their business to be family friendly, inviting customers to bring children and “well-behaved” dogs to picnic on the grounds.

Song Dog, in Montgomery County, is about 30 miles northwest of the United States Capitol, where Harris once walked the halls as a Jewish community policy professional. A former CEO of the National Jewish Democratic Council, he left the now-defunct organization in 2013 after 20 years in the Jewish nonprofit world.

Draheim and Harris have long been fascinated by distilleries. Following a 2014 visit to one in Michigan, they looked at each other and said, “We can do that,” recalled Draheim, a professional conservationist. “By the time we got to the airport, we were Googling, ‘How do you open a distillery?’ ”

The process was years in the making, as they took courses, attended conferences, enticed family to invest, searched for property and applied for permits and loans. Song Dog held its opening celebration last year.

Though spirits are inherently kosher, flavorings and colorings can render a spirit nonkosher. Kashrut “was important to us personally,” Draheim said, noting it also matters to customers “more than we thought it would.”

Song Dog spirits have become part of their friends’ simchas as well as “simchas we’re not part of,” Harris said. “There’s something very magical about being in these special moments of people’s lives.”

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Debra Rubin is an editor and writer based in Maryland.