Our dear friend Shana celebrated her birthday with a distillery tasting at a local craft distillery in Kent/Auburn called Blackfish Distillery. It was a really fun and educational experience!
If you get a chance I definitely recommend a tasting experience at one of these craft distilleries. Doing a little research myself on some of the local distilleries in the area, I found many are happy to have you come in and do a tasting to try before you buy.
Blackfish is a wonderful small batch “Harvest to Glass” family run distillery. They source their grains locally, and produce spirits made from Washington grown harvests. This also includes local rhubarb that is used in their rhubarb liquor! They also take personal care in every step of their process from receiving grain, fruits and spices, to the flavors they create and share with the public.
Our tasting experience was held in their back room among the tools they use to create their spirits. This added incredibly to the overall experience. From the beautifully crafted natural tables made of large sections of trees to the still, barrels and bottles surrounding us. Their history was pretty amazing too when learning about the family creating these products. Pirates, gin and rum, moonshine and white lightning all kinda tells me they come by this naturally!
Local wineries, cideries, breweries and distilleries are popping up everywhere theses days. Wherever you live, you’re probably not too far from a local establishment that makes craft beer, wine, cider, or spirits. I found this n my research that the latest trend is the spread of what you might call “micro-boozeries.” Craft liquor distilleries are springing up around the country like little wellheads spouting vodka, gin, whiskey and rum. Locally we even have the Pacific Distillery that creates a lovely absinthe called Pacifique.
Production of American craft spirits has increased almost 25% last year, while investment into the distilleries that manufacture these liquids doubled from 2015 to 2017.
There are no standard definitions for what a craft distiller is. The America Craft Spirit Association uses its own definition; a “craft” distiller, then, is one who sells fewer than 750,000 proof gallons (equivalent to 3.6 million 1L bottles) annually, self-identifies as a craft supplier, owns or operates at least 75% of the company and adheres to the association’s code of ethics.
According to this definition, the number of active craft distilleries climbed 15.5% over the year to 1,835 which is not a lot but it’s growing!
Of course I didn’t walk out the door empty handed. We bought a bottle of vodka, straight rye and rum. Pricing wasn’t bad when you consider the craft, time and effort that goes into each small batch!
Totally recommend you all take a try at local distillery tasting.
