By David Faro, WRA communications manager
Last autumn, right about the time that the days started to grow shorter and the farmers in the eastern part of the state began to pull in their harvests, the Washington Restaurant Association began to take another good look at craft distillers in the state. The association started last October by hosting a tasting in Seattle, providing distillers a chance to connect with area restaurateurs. The WRA wanted to understand how to better integrate the two industries, and tasting a whole lineup of exciting new products seemed like a great place to start. We kept our ears open. We asked a lot of questions. We wanted to know what the terrain was like in the state now that the industry had been given a little time to grow.
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The WRA has been a tireless champion for opening up hospitality markets. We know that emerging opportunities need laws and regulations that are favorable to an entrepreneurial marketplace. One great example is the industry’s achievements within Initiative 1183. It was a game-changing success that provided great opportunities for small craft distilleries in the state. In 2007 there were only two in Washington. Dry Fly Distilling in Spokane was one of them. A groundbreaking business in the state, Dry Fly was a staunch advocate of a modern craft distillery law passed by the Washington State Legislature. Distillers got what they asked for in 2008, and along with it, the ability to grow an industry.
The new rules increased market competition. There are now around 80 distilleries in the state and that number is growing. At the tasting event in Seattle, there was a robust group of craftspeople sharing methodologies, talking grain and copper and offering each other advice. The WRA observed a community that saw no threat from new industry players and welcomed growth. We talked with producers who were actively looking for ways to place their products in bars and restaurants; and who wanted to connect with hospitality professionals worldwide.
After the tasting, we tried to talk with as many distilleries as possible. We invited every craft distiller in the state to call into the Association’s weekly radio program, DineNW. We wanted to hear about their operations and listen to their stories. We learned unique histories regarding generations of spirit makers. Stories that cover the length and breadth of the state: from Skip Rock Distillery near the Snohomish River, to Walla Walla Distilling Company in the south, to the pioneering Dry Fly Distilling in Spokane, to hidden gems like Wishka River Distillery in Gray’s Harbor. Some of these operations started out on the grain farms of rural Washington, and others used knowledge derived from 20th century moonshine days in Texas and the South. Some distilleries started out in kitchens, garages and basements. Some are on rivers, and some are nestled into valleys on the shores of beautiful mountain lakes. There is no one type of Washington craft distillery; they are all unique.
We interviewed a large sample of Washington businesses and found rich tapestries that describe a tight-knit industry. An industry that sees a common future, and more importantly, a community that offers a range of products that represent some of the greatest spirits made anywhere in the world today.
The conversations illuminated a number of vibrant operations that are all uniquely Washington. Businesses based on traditions that celebrate artistry, local ingredients, and superbly crafted whiskey, gin, vodka, bourbon, grappa, brandy, absinthe and moonshine.
In Washington, we know industries can represent a state. For the craft spirit industry to represent Washington in the manner to which we have become accustomed, distillers have to be able to create top shelf products. In order to succeed in Washington, distillers must have the ability to marry the state’s rich agriculture with the technology and traditions of making fine spirits. To obtain a craft distiller’s license in Washington state, producers have to source at least half of their raw materials from Washington farmers. In our state, the bar for this kind of enterprise was already set pretty high by beer and wine makers. We have a reputation as a world-class producer of exquisite libations. The appearance of craft distilleries was a natural progression. The spirit makers of the state have not let us down.
Washingtonians are connoisseurs. They like good food, beer and wine. Even the coffee at the gas station has to meet a certain standard. Washington’s spirits makers take that love of all-things-delicious quite seriously. In our interviews, the subject of ingredients came up again and again. Washington distillers start with great grains and amazing herbals. Look for the distiller who uses Yukon Golds as the base for his product. It takes potato vodka to a whole new level. That kind of attention to detail is what Washington spirits are all about.
The industry is still young. The spirit makers in Washington are experimenting. Capitalizing on the natural bounty of the state, distillers are combining organic botanicals gathered in the Cascades and Olympic mountain ranges with hand-selected grain from eastern Washington, the result is a wide array of unique products. Washington craft distilleries are succeeding again and again at creating products that are perfect for indulgence in the finest dining rooms around the world.
Westland Distillery tackles the single malt
One example can be found at Westland Distillery in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle. Taking on the concept of single malt whiskey means taking on centuries of tradition and craftsmanship at the same time. It’s a daunting task, but graced with local, world-class ingredients, Westland Distillery is inspired to pursue a uniquely American single malt. The goal is to rival the best in the world, while at the same time underscoring each whiskey with the distinctive Westland house style. One taste lets you know they are succeeding.
Fremont Mischief nods to its working class roots
For other distillers, like Mike Sherlock at Fremont Mischief, the game keeps changing, and that’s what makes it interesting. The distillery is named after a fishing boat called Mischief that once was docked in a shipyard in Seattle. The steampunk distillery has elements that look like they came straight from the late 1800’s. The operation is shaped from the pipes and fittings of shipyard know how and left over equipment. At the Fremont Mischief facility there is lots of metal, tubing, gears and beautifully functioning industrial art. It’s an amazing sight to just stand and watch things function, and then, you taste their great spirits.
Originally, Sherlock went to Japan to sell fish, armed with a case of bottles to give away as gifts. He came back determined to make whiskey for a craft market. He and his partners saw only three other distilleries functioning in the state and saw opportunity. They bought a small operation and started to make spirits.
“We made really horrible crap whiskey for awhile, but we kept at it, and we kept getting better and better at it,” Sherlock said.
That seems to be true for the whole industry.
Now, years later, when you buy Fremont Mischief at the store or in your favorite restaurant, it will embody local fresh grains from nearby fields of organic heirloom summer wheat and emmer. Mischief’s Jon Jacob Rye was called, “genius in a bottle” in a recent review and a “beautiful, youthful rye spirit, with crackling rye spiciness” in another.
Currently, Fremont Mischief is charting new territory again: Mischief is entering the world of well spirit distribution. It is one thing to be high-class luxury item on the upper shelf. It is another to reside in the well as a bartender’s daily go-to for her regular cocktailers. Fremont Mischief aims to live in both places. With their gin, they are well positioned. Fremont Mischief has not forgotten the days when a drink with friends after a hard day at the shipyard was just the thing. Even the names of Mischief spirits show sincere dedication to the working men and women of Washington state. They seem to remember that their adventure all started with a fishing boat.
Heritage Distilling serves up history in a glass
For some reason, there is something about sipping a fine spirit that can ignite a deep sense of history. Gig Harbor’s Heritage Distilling Company takes that feeling so seriously that the concept of tradition takes center stage for their brand. Heritage Distilling Company’s ethos is identified by the close examination of making spirits by hand – from identifying and working directly with the farmers growing their grains, to ensuring the purity of their water source, to milling the grain, making their own mash and wort and running their own custom made stills. Heritage spirits take the history of process into deep consideration. This is the model they use to assure themselves that the hand-crafted, small batch spirits they produce meet the highest standards for flavor.
When an operation makes their product as much with their heart as they do with their hands, it is bound to produce results. The Heritage Distilling Company says that, “… each spirit has a story.” If multiple international awards are any indication, Heritage Distilling Company tells a mighty fine one. In the last year alone, their spirits have won ten national and international awards in San Francisco, Chicago and New York, including a Double Gold-Best Domestic Vodka and Double Gold-Best International Gin. When we talk about Washington distillers putting the state on the map, it is organizations like Heritage Distilling Company that are helping to make it happen.
Batch 206 distributes its artisan spirits at competitive prices
The growth in the industry has simultaneously been an experiment in America’s new economy. The craft distillery law came into effect on the eve of a devastating recession. As a result, distilleries like Batch 206 in Seattle are able to experiment with business models that take advantage of new commercial climates. Set up to not only make fine spirits, but also to self-distribute, Batch 206 has eliminated a lot of costs that are usually tied up in so-called middle-men. This means they can offer top shelf spirits at a price that keeps them competitive in larger markets. Self-distribution has not limited Batch 206’s ability to move product either. They have products on the shelves internationally and they ship bottles as far away as Singapore.
Operations like Batch 206 exemplify the spirit of knowledge-sharing that exists in the community. They offer a weeklong seminar every quarter that aspiring distillers from all over the country attend. Batch 206 is an indication of what is happening in Washington. Entrepreneurs, backed up by a strong initiative process, created fertile ground for another defining industry to thrive in our state. It means operations like Blue Flame Spirits in Prosser can offer a one-of-a-kind award winning wheat whiskey that is 100 percent local, farm-to-barrel and 100 percent delicious. Distilleries such as Blue Flame offer product lines accompanied by the words “premium” and “ultra premium” and that, in a nutshell, is the essence of the industry.
The WRA did a lot of exploring this year and what we found was another delicious way to uniquely celebrate Washington. We found that if you are the kind of person who likes to find themselves deep in a leather chair sipping bourbon or if you enjoy sitting at an ancient wooden bar made from a single tree while drinking rye or if you are the kind of person who enjoys silence accompanied by whiskey neat and a cigar or if you enjoy a gin martini that makes a happy hour a gourmet event, well then, without delay, you should start exploring the craft distilleries of Washington state. The Washington Restaurant Association has found abundant opportunities to sip and savor fine handcrafted premium spirits in Washington state, by Washington state.
(Source: Washington Restaurant Magazine, March 2014)