DSTILL 2015: The Showcase

Nothing brings people together like a good excuse to party. For me it started in my teenage years with a beat up old Mazda and the life changing discovery of my dad’s liquor cabinet which had, probably for my entire life, sat tucked behind his recliner in the living room. I quickly learned how much fun a good night out with friends can be, and what a good funnel of tap water can do to cover your trail.

Within a few years it was keg parties and college, jumping over the fence at the first sight of flashing lights and heading up to the ski slopes late the next morning to pass the time before night fell and the festivities started all over again. Fast forward six or seven more years and the desire is still burning bright, but due to previously unforeseen circumstances - like age, mortgage, and fiancé - these days it often takes a good cause to bring out the party.

Alas.

Thanks to DSTILL and their Showcase of all things craft on April 16, myself and hundreds of the Mile High City’s other proud weeknight lushes were brought together at the McNichols Civic Center Building to sample everything from vodka to moonshine from 49 of the world’s micro and craft distilleries. By my count, a good 35 of them were from Colorado, and I distinctly recall noticing the represented talent stretching from New York all the way to LA.

I started off the night with some absinthe. Perhaps a bit extreme, but I walked by the Golden Moon Distillery booth three or four times trying to establish my placement in the room and each time I caught myself eyeing the product like the coyote that lives behind my house eyes my dog. I could not seem to justify kicking it off any other way.

Opened in 2012, Golden Moon’s take on the green dragon is one of the products that has helped brand the company. “We started off by making 500 bottles of absinthe,” said Brand Ambassador Noah Henry. “Then we started making other spirits and playing around.” For the record, this is the absinthe of legend, made famous for many in my generation by the movie Eurotrip, when the character played by the ever-so-luscious Michelle Tractenberg is caught making out with her brother after they both downed a good amount of the stuff at a nightclub. “We use antique stills. Our stills are all French and German stills from the 1930s, 1950s. They are very small. Our goal is to make the finest craft spirits and craft cocktails in the Colorado market.”

With that absinthe, they might not be too far off. But what about something to stir in, to mellow out that taste of spoiled licorice? Or, if absinthe isn’t your thing, perhaps you are craving a little vodka? Well, you are in luck my friend.

What happened next was, if I do say so myself, a dose of absinthe-infused genius. As I slowly walked around the two-floor event taking it all in, mingling with fellow media folk, and even raising a toast with the mother of DSTILL founder Rob Masters, it hit me- here is all this booze, almost every type of distilled spirit I’d ever heard of, all in one building. A small horde of Denver’s finest eateries sampling their signature dishes paired with their signature cocktails. This event is the ultimate orgasm inducer for every opulent booze hound, a near free-for-all of toasty bliss for the mere price of admission. Every vendor here was trying to impress, and I would be lying if I said I hadn’t been impressed so far. But now it was time to take it up notch. It was time to create my own cocktail. Or, at least, take a well-known drink and kick it up a notch. Something that wasn’t on the menu tonight.

So I stopped by the Altitude Spirits booth on the top floor, a great company based in Boulder. I had seen their vodka around before tonight but had never tried it. “We’re a little bit like the black sheep for this party,” says Altitude Spirits president and co-founder Matthew Baris. “Everybody here is all about American craft spirits and our company is about awesome craft spirits from around the world. We have a London dry gin that is actually distilled in London by the smallest licensed distillery in the UK. We have the world’s only fair trade organic certified rum. We’re all about awesome craft spirits from everywhere.” I was here for their sole non-import, however. Baris poured me some vodka and I headed back downstairs to grab some mixer.

“The color comes from the ginger root itself as opposed to chemicals or colorings,” says Josh Morton, the founder of Barrow’s Intense Ginger Liqueur. I took a sample in my glass, squeezed in some lime, stirred, and sipped. Not a bad Mule I’d created for myself. Plus, Barrow’s is 44 proof, a large jump from the typical non-alcoholic ginger beer generally found in the drink. Morton even showed me his recipe for a Moscow Mule Shot, which is made up of 1 part Barrow’s on the bottom, 1 part vodka, and a squeeze of lime. “I love the idea of using craft liqueur in a shot because people think a shot is down-market and craft is (higher). A lot of people take craft too serious, so I like the idea of humanizing craft liqueur."

I had it. I dubbed it the Mile High Mule. It’s so simple. Take the best thing we’ve gotten from Russia (outside of the Miracle On Ice, of course) and make it entirely craft, and entirely potent. As American as it gets.

I finished off the night at the booth of Wood’s High Mountain Distillery, which is based in Salida, CO. “We mash, ferment, distill, age, and bottle all of our products on site,” says proprietor Lee Wood. These guys focus in depth on what they do, with three types of gin, two whiskys, and something I’d never heard of, an elderflower liqueur. “We source Colorado wines, distill that into a high-proof brandy. We then take it and distill it a third time through our gin distilling process, but instead of gin botanical we replace that with elderflower. We sweeten it with a raspberry honey from right here in Colorado.” Certainly not a bad night cap.

This event, at its core, is meant to showcase small-batch American craft spirits, and they do an amazing job. It is well organized, full of very friendly vendors and guests, and the amount of hard work each vendor in the room has put it in order to be here is overwhelmingly apparent. What I noticed about every distillery I spoke with is that each one has a story derived from pursuing passion and keeping it local, and that is exactly what this industry needs.

The boys from Avery, Ska, Great Divide, and Odell breweries hosted an open beer bar from 10 o’oclock until 11 for those who didn’t want the party to end. As for me, the aforementioned fiancé is heading down to pick me up, so I’ll have to save the after party for another time.

Golden Moon Distillery: 412 Violet St., Golden, CO 80401, goldenmoondistillery.com

Altitude Spirits: PO Box 1437, Boulder, CO 80306, altitudespirits.com

Barrow’s Intense Ginger Lqueur: barrowsintense.com

Wood’s High Mountain Distillery: 144 W. 1^st Street, Salida, CO 81201, woodsdistillery.com

Dstill.co

Tim Wenger is a Denver-based journalist, musician and avid snowboarder. Catch his work in Colorado Music Buzz, MicroShiner, Snowboard Colorado, and his weekly talk show on worldviral.tv

Photos courtesy of Chris Haugen

Continue reading

Share:

Time Lapse from TOAST 2015

On March 7th, the MicroShiner crew followed the Oregon Distillery Trail to the Leftbank Annex in Portland, OR to enjoy a night of craft spirits at TOAST, the Oregon Distillers Guilds' annual tasting event.

Here is a fun time-lapse of the event that captures what it means to be a MicroShiner in #PDX!

Continue reading

Share:

A TOAST from the Leftbank

It was a dark and stormy night.

Actually, the weather was picture perfect in Portland, Oregon, and people flooded the streets and parks of the Rose City to celebrate what from all appearances was winter's end. As the sun slowly descended in the west, a small queue began to form at the entrance to the recently reimagined Leftbank Annex, and the unusually warm spring day gave way to what looked to be an equally spirited evening.

The crowd in question were what could be considered MicroShiners, enthusiasts of craft spirits, and the event they were lining up for the fifth iteration of TOAST, Portland's annual artisan spirits tasting hosted by the Oregon Distillers' Guild and the Oregon Distillery Trail.

With over 40 micro-distilled and craft labels assembled, the event offered attendees access to a selection of spirits that dwarfed even the most ridiculously well-stocked bar, serving up samples of some hundred or more individual tastes and flavors. Included in the price was an unlimited number of tastings, a souvenir sniffter, and hors d'oeuvres prepared by several shining stars from Portland's renowned culinary scene.

Upon entering, we were greeted by Ted Pappas of Big Bottom Distilling and current president of the Oregon Distillers' Guild. Ted shared with us some details about the event, ending with a dissertation on the highlight of the evening, an unveiling of the Oregon Starka Project.

"Write this down," he said. "A rye, pinot barrel; a zinfandel; and a rye barrel with French oak staves and applewood."

Starka is unique even in Portland, a city renowned for its expansive craft spirits portfolio. It is barrel-aged vodka, a style of crafting that spirit nearly unknown outside the borders of its eastern European motherland. The Oregon Starka Project is only the second such launch in America, following the recent release of Cardinal Sin Starka by St. Louis Distillery.

The uniqueness of the spirit itself is only amplified by the fact that the Oregon Starka Project is a collaboration between three local micro-distilleries. Its the type of thing that can only happen in Portland, a town nearly notorious for harboring a quasi-socialist sentiment.

"To my knowledge its the only collaboration between distilleries," Pappas adds. "Breweries and distilleries; there's lots of that. But this is something unique. We're really supportive of each other here."

The unveiling was scheduled for later in the evening, and Pappas hopes it will become an annual event at TOAST. Until then, there were plenty of other delicacies on hand ready to be sampled.

Indio Spirits, one of the distillers collaborating on the Starka Project, had an extensive portfolio on display, a highlight of which was their Hopka hop vodka. The spirit is dry hopped using local Cascade hops, resulting in what amounts to an incredible tasting experience.

Vinn Distillery was another notable stop. Offering a blackberry liquor, vodka, whiskey, and traditional Chinese baiju, Vinn is unique in their use of rice as the basic building block of their spirits. Produced locally in Wilsonville at their family owned distillery, Vinn's product is likely the only craft baiju in America, although Michelle Ly of Vinn believes we will soon see an influx of this rare (at least in the US) spirit from Chinese producers. Support the local effort and ask for Vinn instead!

Another unique taste being sampled was Cascade Alchemy. One of several micro-distillers at the event from Bend, Cascade Alchemy's selection contained a number of interesting flavors including Apple Pie and Barley Shine.  Of particular note was their Chai Tea, made from corn and distilled eight times before being infused with chai from My Chai in Bend. Refreshingly smooth, it would be sublime strengthening an Arnold Palmer on a summer afternoon.

Of course, this is only a few of the notables to be found at TOAST. With time running out on a tie score in the night's match between the Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake, the wealth of the assembled craft spirits only increased in value, providing some needed respite for a few of the home team's more hardcore fans.

As the evening progressed, attendees narrowed down their favorites, with many purchasing a bottle for home, another aspect of TOAST that makes this particular tasting event unique.

Still, all things must end, even those as remarkable as TOAST, and so it did, closing with a VIP after party on the mezzanine. Clearly a success, this year's event set a high bar that will only be eclipsed by future iterations in scope and scale. We look forward to seeing you there! 

  Cheers!

Continue reading

Share:

Portland's TOAST to Craft Spirits

Tickets are now on sale for TOAST 2015, the Pacific Northwest's signature artisan spirits tasting event.

Entering its fifth year, TOAST connects small distillers and producers of handcrafted spirits with the craft enthusiast in a unique all-inclusive tasting experience. TOAST will take place Friday, March 7th, 2015 from 4-10pm in the beautiful Leftbank Annex building in SE Portland, and will feature over 40 distillers, on-site product sales, bites from top local chefs, music and other entertainment.

This year’s event will have an updated format, taking place on a single night with lively activity throughout the evening and an all-inclusive ticket price covering all food and drink samples. Participating distilleries will also be offering products for sale on-site, including several limited releases.

TOAST attendees can expect a huge variety of spirits to sample, including rare liqueurs like absinthe and aquavit. Participating distilleries include Aria Gin, Bendistillery, Big Bottom, Bull Run Distillery, McMenamins, Oregon Spirit Distillery, and Vinn Distillery. 

Celebrated Portland chefs including Chef Scott Dolich of The Bent Brick will pair tasty bites with the vast selection of spirits, while some of Portland's best mixologists will be crafting exceptional cocktails for guests to purchase at the MicroShiner-sponsored bar.

General Admission tickets for TOAST are $45. Limited VIP tickets are also available for $60, which includes two cocktails, access to the VIP room and entry to the distillers after party. 

Tickets can be purchased online here.

Continue reading

Share:

Liquid Romance at 1st Annual Texas on the Rocks

Let me be the first to say that I, like many, knew nothing about the micro distilling community. I suppose that sounds a bit discrediting, given that this article is published on a website that focuses mainly on that particular aspect of craft culture. So the Texas on the Rocks craft spirit tasting, held this past Valentine’s Day, was an amazing learning experience for me; and overall, I had a blast.

I came into the event expecting it to be heavily politicized with the distillers competing against one another in some bacchanalian shootout. I was hoping to report from a war zone. Tribes of shiners going shot for shot with one another, much akin to the Hatfield and McCoy rivalry. I wanted to see blood. I had checked in far too early, taken note of the giant teepee in the corner of the Austin Music Hall, and found a smattering of Comanche garb. Boy was I excited to see these legendary warriors of the Texas plains.

This was it! Gun powder was going to flavor the air. Smoke was going to billow from the hall. Blood was going to coat the walls and drip from the ceiling, and I was going to be standing in the middle of it all. Spur clad cowboys were armed with rifles and bullwhips. Obsidian spears and warhawks were racked at the Comanche camp. It was set to be 1840 all over again. I was so excited for the savagery that veins were bulging from my neck in vigorously eager anticipation.

Six o’clock rolls around, and I can’t wait to see who fires the first shot. I surveyed the chaos but all I found were people shaking hands and expressing joy. Turns out, there were no savage blood feuds requiring righteous retaliation. The evening was rather cordial. It struck me as an Appalachian family reunion, where everyone brought their own homemade liquor to the potluck.

Dan Garrison of Garrison Brothers played host to the event, and put out the best Texas bred bourbon to cross my lips. Treaty Oak had the prettiest gin at the dance. It was aged in bourbon barrels. Somehow they had found a way to make straight gin taste good.

The vodkas had a solid showing as well. Deep Eddy was on hand. Cinco Vodka out of San Antonio was a nice surprise. I had never heard of them, and their product was remarkable. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of vodka. But the first vodka I tried changed my whole perspective on the drink. Tito’s Vodka was incredible. So smooth that it feels like you’re drinking some crazy non-Newtonian fluid. Tito’s was the first vodka to really rock my world. And fitting in with Austin’s health conscious approach to indulgence, it’s distilled from corn. THAT SHIT IS GLUTEN-ASS-FREE!!!

Growing up in the punk scene of Houston, I’d developed a taste for cheap, shitty whiskey, and tequila. Redemption’s Riverboat Rye captures the essence of those glorious days without sacrificing any flavor. It’s a young whiskey, aged for only a year; but goddamn is it good. As for the tequila, you just need to remember three numbers: 5-1-2. Distilled in Mexico, and bottled in Austin; this shit destroys its overpriced competitors. At this price, you hardly feel guilty about pounding a bottle with your aberrant cohorts in just a few tips. Fuck Patron. Tequila 512 is under twenty five dollars a bottle and tastes better.

Lately I’ve grown up, and grown fond of mezcal. As Reverend Horton Heat put it, loco gringos like a party. Catmezcal is definitely a party all on its own. It’s as if a scotch and a tequila made some terrible decisions together, and birthed the perfect balance between what you’ve come to enjoy from both of those worlds. Catmezcal Anejo is savory and smoky, with a nice bite and a smooth finish. I could drink this stuff until my blood type was sangria.

All told, Texas on the Rocks was the perfect introduction to the world of Texas craft spirits. The vendors were friendly and informative, and the crowd rather congenial, given that it was a room full of Texans with access to as much booze as they could drink. I can only assume that, like any good whiskey, this preeminent tasting event will only improve with time.

Michael R. McBride is a former punk from Houston, Texas. He now spends his time operating as a freelance writer in that bastion of iniquity known as Austin.

Continue reading

Share:

MicroShiner Samples Texas on the Rocks

Today the MicroShiner crew will be jet setting into the heart of Texas for the 1st annual Texas on the Rocks craft spirits festival at the Austin Music Hall. TOTR will kick off the American Craft Spirits Association’s annual conference, being held January 15 and 16 at the Hyatt Regency Town Lake.

More than 1,500 guests are expected for a Valentine's Day event filled with dancing, spirits and liquid romance. More than 40 craft distilleries – from Texas and beyond – will be hosting tables at the event, providing small samples of craft spirits and exquisite cocktails. Guests can meander through 2 full floors of craft culture, learning how these artisan spirits are produced, discovering new cocktails, and exploring the stories behind each craft distiller.

Craft distilleries on hand include Ironroot Republic, Treaty Oak, Balcones Distilling, Garrison Brothers, Tito’s, Dulce Vida Spirits, Yellow Rose Distilling, Deep Eddy, Rebecca Creek, Cinco Vodka, Hill Country Distillers, Firestone & Robertson, Revolution Spirits, Bone Spirits, and your guide to the world of craft spirits … MicroShiner!

While attendees meet the makers, exciting entertainers, dancers, singers and Texas talents will perform on the main stage, along with two-step dance teams, cowboy poets, and dueling fiddlers.

Texas on the Rocks will provide an original and memorable Valentine’s Day night out for any lover of fine craft spirits. There is a Texas Spirits Cocktail Throw-down VIP Pre-Party, live music, live entertainment, and a VIP Tito’s Vodka breakfast taco bar (from Maudie’s) and Bloody Mary post-party. Event times are as follows:

· VIP Texas Spirits Cocktail Throwdown Pre-Party: 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM

· Main Tasting Event: 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM

· VIP Tito’s Vodka breakfast taco bar and Bloody Mary post-party: 10:30 PM to Midnight

The VIP pre-party will feature a nacho bar catered by Chuy’s and a competition between 5 of Austin’s most talented mixologists to find the next big Texas Premium Cocktail. The winning cocktail will be selected by the guests after all five entries have been tasted.

Tickets to the main tasting event, VIP pre-party and Tito’s after party can be purchased here.

You can get a peek inside and follow our adventures via Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Continue reading

Share:

Shop, Eat, and Drink Local with Sweetgrass Farm Distillery

Don't get us wrong, we certainly appreciate a black tie affair, but we can get just as excited about that other facet of craft spirits, promoting local production and commerce. So our hat is off to Sweetgrass Farm Winery & Distillery of Union, Maine, who is hosting the fifth incarnation of their annual Holiday Bazaar on December 13 & 14.

Those attending the bazaar will find local food and provisions paired with this year’s Sweetgrass wines and micro-distilled spirits. Samplings include award winning artisan cheese from Appleton Creamery and fresh oysters from the Pemaquid Oyster Company. WaldoStone Farm will be sampling its fine line of oyster sauces and Bloody Mary Mixers and will provide Bloody Mary cocktails by the glass with your favorite. Other food vendorsat the bazaar include Bixby Bars, Transfiguration Hermitage, and Bleuberet Artisanal Jams.

In addition to these great pairings, attendees will find local gift items from a number of guest artisans. G & L Float Rope Creations will be selling their uniquely designed float rope baskets and mats. Just in time for Christmas, Brae Maple Farm has created needle felted ornaments; sheep, donkeys, golden retrievers, and cats all made from wool raised on their farm, and Qdloon Repurposed Bird Feeders will be on hand with a wide selection of unique bird feeders that will please even the hard to shop for on your list.

Sip wine, sample spirits, and enjoy a truly one of a kind holiday shopping experience at this archetype of New England craft culture.

Continue reading

Share:

Raff Distillerie at Alchemy Bottle Shop

Here is a little bit of news we received from our friends at Alchemy Bottle Shop in Oakland, which just so happens to coincide nicely with our own feature on the Mad Scientist of Treasure Island, owner and distiller Carter Raff, in the upcoming issue of MicroShiner magazine.
< br /> Be sure to check out our feature on Raff in the Autumn issue of MicroShiner online, or order your print copy today!
There's nothing we love more than celebrating our local craft distillers

...which is why we're so pleased to announce that we're hosting Carter Raff, mastermind behind Treasure Island based Raff Distillerie, this Saturday from 1-4pm! Don't miss your chance to meet Carter and taste his phenomenal creations, including the incredibly popular Bummer & Lazarus Gin, as well as his superb Emperor Norton Absinthe.

See you there!

Continue reading

Share: