Microdistilleries are all the rage around Washington State, thanks to a recent change in state law to allow craft distillers to sell on-site and serve half-ounce samples—under one condition: Makers must source at least 50 percent of their ingredients from within the state. The results are worth toasting.
- Dry Fly Distilling, a Spokane spiritmaker, has collected half a dozen awards for its vodkas, whiskey, and gin. Daily distillery tours highlight the mash-to-barrel process and offer sips of Dry Fly’s sought-after recipes.
- The Ellensburg Distillery gives North Central Washington its first locally produced single-malt whiskey, Gold Buckle Club, as well as El Chalán Peruvian-style brandy, produced from Washington wines.
- It’s Five C’Clock Somewhere operates in a former pear warehouse in Cashmere. Here, owner Colin Levi dabbles in brandies, whiskeys, and fruit-based liqueurs, using local apples, pears, and plums.
- Bainbridge Organic Distillers, a father-son operation on Bainbridge Island, is the state’s only organic distillery. Try the Battle Point Whiskey for an intriguing maritime flavor that evokes the rain-washed Olympic Peninsula.
- Sound Spirits, a Seattle distillery, combines Washington barley and pristine Cascade snowmelt to make distinctly sweet sipping vodkas. Drop by on evenings and weekends for tastings of its Ebb and Flow vodka and soon-to-be-released gin.
Find Washington distilleries and breweries >>
—Joanna Nesbit
