I’m a city dwelling California girl, so I never paid too much attention to Oregon, our upstairs neighbor. California has made its stamp in the food and beverage industry – there’s a reason they call it “California cuisine.” It’s something I’ve taken for granted: the amazing wine from Napa, the booming craft beer industry, our proximity to the agricultural wealth of the Central Valley, growing up a couple miles away from Chez Panisse. I never really looked much further than home for great food and drink because I never had to.

Then I went to Oregon.

I spent last weekend at a Swine & Spirits event in Redmond, Oregon. Redmond is a few miles away from Bend, a lush resort town at the base of Mount Bachelor, and a couple hours away from Portland. The Swine & Spirits event was twofold: it featured a barbeque competition and also hosted 25 local distillers.

The barbeque was delicious, but let’s talk about the distillers first. Every distiller was from the state of Oregon – some of them were from Portland, some were from Bend, and the rest had travelled less than two hours to get to the event. It didn’t take long for me to do the math: there’s something about the culture in Oregon that is lending itself to a craft distilling boom.

Upon purveying the offerings at the distillers’ table, I realized that they had everything to offer: vodkas, gins, bourbons, whiskies, ryes, aquavit, rums, infused vodkas, coffee liqueurs, lemoncello, ginger liqueur, shrubs, cocktail syrups, bitters, brandies, and even a p’isqu (which is not a pisco but is like a pisco).

One of my first stops was at the Jaz Spirits booth. Jaz Spirits is run by a woman named Faith, who recently sold a highly successful, nationally known, award winning chocolate business. Faith’s obsession is with place based gin – she talked glowingly about her experience visiting St. George Spirits in the Bay Area and the appeal of their terroir gin. Faith wanted to create a place based gin that evinced her home state of Oregon. She infused her gin after distillation with toasted juniper, foraged spruce tips, sweet spices such as anise, fresh herbs, botanicals such as homegrown pear, and local honey. The result is an Old Tom style gin that is bursting with flavor and has an amaro-like bitterness at the end. It’s a dark hued gin that gets its color from post distillation infusion and that retains sediment from the herbs much in the same way that kombuchas retain sediment.

My next stop was at the Vivacity Spirits booth. They were showcasing their vodka, the banker’s gin, the native gin, the treos brandy, the Turkish coffee liqueur, and their newly released p’isqu. Every one of their products is delicate, nuanced and sumptuous – a feat that challenges many distillers who are often spread thin over a large product line. Much like Jaz Gin’s mission to create a place based gin, Vivacity’s native gin captures the essence of Oregon by infusing hazelnuts, Cascade grapes and juniper into their gin. (On a side note, I learned this weekend that Oregon is one of the largest producers of hazelnuts and they also have a giant juniper forest in the middle of the state. If you’re talking about local, gin makes so much sense!) I also loved their treos brandy – it’s a collaborative effort between Treos winery and Vivacity spirits. Vivacity distills Treos pinot noir, creating one of the only single estate domestic brandies. Vivacity is also sourcing muscat grapes from the Treos winery for their p’isqu – it’s a delicious, unaged brandy with an upkick of Moscato sweetness at the end of the palate.

Crater Lake was next – they’ve already built a reputation in Oregon with their vodka (which was in one of the Bloody Marys I had at brunch that weekend). Crater Lake has a full line of fun products including rye whiskey, estate gin, and a line of infused vodkas. I was immediately drawn to their hazelnut espresso vodka (again, the hazelnuts! Super Oregon of them!), which at 50 proof played more like a liqueur. The hazelnut espresso vodka hit a sweet note akin to Kahlua and Frangelico – it makes for an excellent after dinner sipping drink or fun cocktail ingredient.

Eastside Distilling was there in full force and not to be missed. Perhaps you’ve heard of them in the news lately – it’s the first craft distillery to be publicly traded on the stock market. Their market strategy has been aggressive, and they recently acquired Big Bottom distillery. This set the bar high for their products. Eastside tasted me on their potato vodka. It’s an affordable product that is ready to compete directly with Tito’s on both price and performance. The most intriguing product they poured for me was their barrel hitch Oregon oak American whiskey and burnside bourbon Oregon Oaked. Eastside recently made a play to buy up all the Garryana oak in the state – it’s a special type of oak that is native to Oregon (again – place based!). Oregon oak makes a different impact on a whiskey than American oak – think less vanilla and more molasses, clove and coffee. A few other companies, such as Westland in Seattle, are snatching up this rare oak as they start to ask the question: what happens when we age whiskey in something other than new American oak?

At the Thomas & Sons, there was an array of unique products with a fascinating back story. Thomas & Sons is connected to the Brew Dr. Kombucha, which is an offshoot of the Townshend Tea Company. Their teas and kombuchas come in a variety of flavors, such as love and happiness. They distill their spirits by putting their kombucha into a vacuum still and removing the alcohol without using heat (which would pasteurize the kombucha and kill the bacteria). Their line of spirits is vastly different from most other spirits in its method of production and the resulting flavor profile. They have a white rose vodka, gin, tea liqueurs and amaros – all byproducts of kombucha. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t get more Portland than that.

Aria Gin was showcasing their award winning gin. It’s a Portland dry gin that veers away from over infusion or the otherwise prevalent obsession with place based gin. They proudly advertise their botanicals: juniper, orris root, cassia root, cubeb berry, lemon peel, grains of paradise, cardamom, orange peel, angelica and coriander. Aria Gin is making a name for itself in Oregon and has its sights on dominating the California market next.

Attention fruit lovers: Wild Roots produces a line of flavored vodkas that includes a cranberry vodka, a Washington apple and cinnamon vodka, a marionberry vodka, a pear vodka, a cherry vodka, and a raspberry vodka. It’s an interesting vodka line that reads like a walk through your favorite health food store fruit aisle, and the vodka holds up to the high expectation. Their vodkas aren’t overly sweet despite being deep in color. Instead, they offer a delectable fruit flavor that doesn’t eclipse the palate with sweetness or play in drinks like liqueurs. Wild Roots is changing the game by offering quality infused vodkas that bring a burst of fresh fruit to the palate.

I tried an incredibly interesting savory vodka at the Heritage Distilling booth. They make a Bloody Mary vodka infused with rosemary, thyme, roasted garlic, black pepper, and sun dried tomato. The result is a kicking and savory vodka that can hold up to tomato juice and horseradish. But it’s vodka that I could see playing well in cocktails beyond a Bloody Mary – much in the same way aquavit’s caraway notes pair interestingly in sweet cocktails, I could see this vodka in a dirty martini or perhaps a vesper. Heritage Distilling caught my attention by having the most interesting and weird spirit I tried at the whole event.

At Cascade Alchemy, I got a chance to try their Oregon gin and barrel aged Oregon gin. Their Oregon gin finished with mouth full of cucumber – it’s a gin that appeals to Hendricks drinkers who like a touch of garden freshness without overwhelming floral notes. Their barrel aged gin was even more interesting – it’s the same gin, but the cucumber kick is muted while the barrel notes mingle with the other botanicals in the gin. Their bourbon was a rich, juicy spirit – something I would love to drink in black Manhattan.

Spiritopia brought their full line of liqueurs: pomegranate, ginger and apple. The pomegranate liqueur was juicy with a nice touch of acidity. The apple liqueur – which is made from Oregon apples and apple cider – was boozy and delectable. Their ginger liqueur, which is made with vanilla, had a graceful, building heat at the back of the palate. All three liqueurs were bright and fresh, inspiring in my mind a variety of cocktails that I would love to drink.

At the event, I was part of the Crafted Life table, where we served drinks with Raft syrups (their orgeat and vanilla syrups were delicious!) and Bitter Housewife bitters (yes to their lime coriander bitters!). Crafted Life helped put the event together and brought all the distillers together. It was an exciting even that brought together the best and brightest of the burgeoning Oregon craft scene, and I can’t wait to see more events like this. (Also, if you’re interested in buying anything I’ve mentioned in this article online, you can buy most of those products on their website.)

The event was intense, and I didn’t even get to try every spirit available, nor is this a comprehensive list of the vendors there. I learned my lesson at the Craft Spirits Carnival – at events like this, you have to be picky about what you drink and the order in which you drink it. Trying every single spirit is an unrealistic expectation that might leave you with a horrible hangover the next day. With events like this, you have to have a strategy going in.

So what does this all add up to? Many people say that craft distilling is the next big trend in cocktails, but I say it’s here to stay. If we look at other historical regions that are now respected staples in the world of booze, we realize that this is how new categories and new standards for distilling are established. American whiskey, British gin, cognac, pisco, tequila – these are all place based categories of spirits that reflect the terroir and the culture of their places of origin. Oregon is vying a place in the pantheon of spirits. I don’t foresee a trend – I foresee a new market. I foresee products that start out as niche but over time establish themselves as a new category and a new benchmark of quality.

Drinking in New York: Day 1

I’m staying in Bushwick, but I made it Death & Co in Manhattan yesterday for a few drinks. Now, I’m coming from California, and I’m very entrenched in cocktail culture there, so my expectations for Death & Co were high. I’ve perused that beautiful cocktail book before, and I was eager to try what they had to offer.

With cocktail bars, I tend to be more critical. Especially a bar that has a published cocktail book and a well known reputation: they set the bar pretty high for themselves. Approaching the bar, it was obvious that we had arrived; on a typical New York block with random stores with bright awnings, Death & Co had an austere wooden exterior outside of which stood a man with an iPad. Bingo.

We went there early, right after they opened at six, and the place hadn’t started buzzing yet. It was moody and dark inside, yet stylish.  Death & Co has been around for about a decade, so it’s a type of ambiance that has been replicated at newer cocktail bars who aspire to that level of chic.

The menu itself was sprawling. I understand that this is part of their style, but it’s the type of menu that doesn’t appeal to me either a drinker or a bartender. As a bartender – I can’t imagine having to memorize all those drinks and know what was in every unmarked cheater bottle on the bar. As a drinker, having to choose from 30+ drinks is exhausting, and I rarely make it to the end of the list before I settle for the first or second interesting drink I see. This is something that has been studied by psychologists: decision fatigue. Perhaps if I were planning on staying there for 3+ hours with the express mission of making my way through the entire list – then it would be appealing. But I was there for one or two, and I decided to order off menu for my second drink because I wanted a specific gin.

The drink that I did order on the menu – the Poniente – was a delicious twist on a Martini with Noilly Prat dry vermouth, Tio Pepe fino sherry, Old Raj gin and olive oil. As a martini drinker on a sherry kick, it hit the spot.

However there was one thing that I was hoping for that didn’t hit the spot: local product on the back bar. In the Bay Area, we’re starting to celebrate all the new local distilleries that are doing new and exciting things. I had a conversation with the bartender about the lack of local product, and he told me that often times local products are cost prohibitive especially because often times local products don’t differentiate themselves from other tried and true products. One of the chief examples he gave me was gin (and I absolutely agree on his point): too many gin makers are trying to mimic London dry gin. My bartender told me that it doesn’t make sense for them to stock a gin that is more expensive but in many ways similar to tried and true brands like Beefeater.

I thought this was an interesting point, but when I looked at their back bar, I noticed they had several St. George products – otherwise known as the Bay Area’s most prominent and celebrated local distiller. Death & Co had the terroir gin on the back bar. My bartender said that the terroir gin offers an interesting and unique flavor profile unlike any other gin they can get – and that’s why they stock it.

I wonder if part of the tacit reason they stock St. George and not other native New York (or East Coast) products also has to do with marketing. At a big name bar like Death & Co, what does it take to get your spirit on the shelves? How much market prominence does a brand need in order to solidify a coveted space on those crowded shelves?

My second drink was a Martinez with NY Distilling’s Chief Gowanus gin. It’s a product I’ve had before, but never in a cocktail. It is quite a funky gin, distilled from rye whiskey and aged for a few months. I absolutely love the quirky, big personality of this gin which is high in both rye and juniper flavors.

The bartender was right – the products on the back bar have to be memorable. I had tried that gin once before perhaps six months ago, and it stuck with me, which is why I tried it again.

Craft Spirits Carnival

 Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Craft Spirits Carnival, a sweeping event in a hangar in Fort Mason featuring a plethora of craft spirits, and some big name brands, too. There were about 20 distillers represented in the California Artisanal Distillers’ Guild and plenty of brands from across the country and across the globe, too. But if you know me, you know that I’m here for all the local stuff - the spirits that are made from California grown grains, distilled here in California, and made by my fellow Californians.

The turnout at the Craft Spirits Carnival is a testament to the growing business of craft distilleries. Much as craft beer has been all the craze over recent years, craft distilleries are also taking the plunge into competing with the big boys. Just as many restaurants tout a menu full of locally sourced food, so, too, goes the trend with the bottles on the back bar and the ingredients in cocktails.

I was happy to see some of my favorite California distillers at the event. Venus Spirits was there pouring a delicious aquavit cocktail made with pineapple and lime, helping to showcase the sweeter side of aquavit. Mosswood showed up with their full line, tasting people on their newly released sour beer barrel whiskey. Likewise, Sonoma County Distilling represented their award winning whiskey line. LoFi brought their vermouths to taste.

I was also able to try new things - a lot of new things. Perhaps too many things to even properly recount them all. Admittedly, palate fatigue was a problem. I realize in retrospect perhaps I should have had a better strategy. The amount of stuff to try is overwhelming, with plenty of tasty palate killers such as absinthe and cinnamon liqueurs luring you in - but, here, patience is key. It’s easy to get drunk fast, so for anyone who is looking for a game plan, it’s best to show up early, do a starter lap, takes notes of what you’d like to taste, and try gins and vodkas, then tequilas and light rums, then whiskies, then amaros and liqueurs.

My favorite part of the event were the California Artisanal Distillers’ Guild booths. Some notable favorites included the Ghost Pepper vodka from Ascendant Spirits in Santa Barbara. The heat in the vodka was palatable and lingering without being overwhelming. Gin Farallon from San Carlos was an excellent gin bursting with floral notes from botanicals such as lavender, elderflower and orris root. Greenbar Distillery from Los Angeles offers an extensive line of products, and I was delighted by their six wood whiskey, which they age in white oak, red oak, hickory, maple, mulberry and grape woods. The end result is a complex and nuanced whiskey that hits unexpected notes of spice and body that many whiskies can’t accomplish with just white oak barrels. I tried some of the products from Humboldt Distillery, a distillery that produces cannabis infused spirits. The cannabis offered a richness and body in their spirits, with toasty, slightly cacao note. Definitely a California original. Barbary Coast white Rum from Raff Distilleries on Treasure Island offered a complex palate with funky, tropical notes on the finish.

There were a fair amount of smaller spirits coming from beyond our borders. Alquimia Organic Tequila, a bright and floral highlands tequila, showcased their full line, including a rich extra anejo tequila. Santo Diablo Mezcal, at 100% espadin, was surprisingly the only mezcal present, but it was a fine representation of this booming new category. Tanduay Rum, made in the Phillipines by a Chinese company and with grassy, oily notes, and Kikori whiskey represented spirits coming to us from Asia.

A new batch of amaros piqued my interest at this show. Amaro Angeleno from Los Angeles was a delightful, light amaro with citrus forward notes. Amaro Bilaro from Sebastopol, on the other hand, was a dark and brooding amaro with lingering bitter notes. I quite enjoyed the mini spritz I drank at Jardesca, a white wine aperitivo blooming with botanicals and floral notes. I tried the Stark Spirits aquavit, done in a traditional style with a heavy dose of carraway.

I regret that beyond these notable spirits, I did miss out on a few exciting booths. But cut me some slack! After everything listed above, it was hard to keep a level head and keep all my notes straight. Amador Distillery, Engine 49 & Dr Diggings Distillery had a full and intriguing line of spirits. I completely missed the Araceli Marigold Liqueur booth, the Priqly booth and Pops Rumpopo. I will be keeping my eye out for these products behind bars in the Bay Area so I can give them a try.

Many other distillers were present at the event, not as a presenters but as curious observers. Perhaps they were checking out the competition, perhaps they were doing research, or perhaps they were looking at the opportunities that the event offered. The Craft Spirits Carnival is open to the public - for $100, the event is a boozy free for all. The event attracts sophisticated drinkers, home bartenders, industry hopefuls, professional bartenders, and amateurs alike. The Craft Spirits Carnival can be an opportunity for young drinkers to experience the abundance that most industry people take for granted. That being said, there were stories of overindulgence. For small distillers, the competition for drinkers was high, and hand selling bottle by bottle was the name of the game. Inquisitive distillers should know - two people per booth is a bare minimum for this event, and offering pamphlets and swag beyond just the bottles helps make a lasting impact on consumers.