Breweries and their craft beers have been on the rise in the PNW over the last decade and, we suppose, have gotten much of the attention when it comes to drinking around these parts (we have even covered them extensively on this blog here). However, it didn’t take long before distilleries started to make an appearance on the scene. We feel they should not be overlooked since spirits are arguably harder to make (we are basing this solely on the fact that you don’t ever hear of your neighbor making sprits in their garage) and equally delicious. We are lucky enough to have some of the best distilleries in the country right here in Washington. In fact, Washington has more spirit distilleries than any other state (110 in 2015 was the last number we could find) and Seattle has more than any other city in the country! Go us!
Bottling the vodka
We had the opportunity to take a tour at OOLA Distillery (complete with samples!) from the owner himself, Kirby Kallas-Lewis, and we were blown away by his smooth and delicious vodka, whisky, and gin. Kirby is a master distiller and studied the art for years before finally opening OOLA in Capitol Hill, which was one of the first distilleries to open in Seattle. They have a cute and quaint tasting room (babies and dogs welcome!) where you can sample (and buy!) the spirits. You can also arrange for your own private tour or join the 3pm tour every Saturday for just $10. We highly recommend it.
Now, we aren’t going to try and explain the distilling process to you even though we TOTALLY understand it, but here are a few of our recs from the samples we tried:
OOLA’s gin was one of our favorites with amazing citrus notes. Fun fact, makers of gin can put any botanical they want in it, but it must be juniper berry forward. In fact, there is even a gin board that reviews all gin to make sure there is enough juniper in it to actually call it gin.
If you like some spice, you have to try the chili pepper vodka. It was definitely impressive to see large barrels of vodka soaking in Hungarian Goathorn Peppers! Add this to a bloody mary and it will be a good morning indeed (or at least give you the morning kick you need).
Their smoked whisky is rich and balanced with a perfect amount of smokey flavor. Check out their smoke and fire cocktail if you need an idea on how to use it.
vodka soaking in chili peppers!
Other fun facts!
OOLA was named after the owner’s German Shepherd, which automatically gives them clout.
Kallas-Lewis was once an art dealer specializing in tribal art. If you take the distillery tour you can see some of these pieces (including an ancient shield from, we think, Polynesia) hanging around the walls.
OOLA is located next to 10 degrees event space, so basically you can party in a rad space AND have the best booze.
There is a Georgetown location coming soon!
OOLA Cocktail
We’re curious…what distilleries in the area have you visited?
