Portland Distillery Row Crawl

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OtisT
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Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by OtisT »

Hi all. I am testing the waters for interest in a distillery crawl in Portland Oregon. Nothing fancy. Just a no-host get together on a Saturday. Portland has almost a dozen micro-distilleries within the downtown area, and many are walking distance from each other. I know a handful of the owners/distillers, and will see about getting special tours for our group of educated enthusiasts.

Some near term dates that work for me are Sat Sept 30, Sat Oct 14, or Sat Oct 28.

Let me know if you are interested in joining me, and what dates would work for you.

Otis
Otis’ Pot and Thumper, Dimroth Condenser: Pot-n-Thumper/Dimroth
Learning to Toast: Toasting Wood
Polishing Spirits with Fruitwood: Fruitwood
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The Baker
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by The Baker »

If only it were closer.

Geoff (in Australia).
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Oldvine Zin
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by Oldvine Zin »

I should be down south of Portland crushing grape around those dates. Might be able to come up an evening, I'll give you a call.

OVZ
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Badmotivator
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by Badmotivator »

OtisT wrote:
Let me know if you are interested in joining me, and what dates would work for you.

Otis
Yeah!

I prefer either of the two Oct. dates.

Yeah!
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Bushman
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by Bushman »

Havent looked at my calendar but I am in Europe until the 19th of October.
OtisT
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by OtisT »

This is narrowed down to the two Oct dates, so BadMo can make it. If Bushman thinks he can make it on the 28th, I say we plan for that day. I will continue to play this by ear until he has a chance to check his calendar. I know he's traveling, so no rush on this.
Otis’ Pot and Thumper, Dimroth Condenser: Pot-n-Thumper/Dimroth
Learning to Toast: Toasting Wood
Polishing Spirits with Fruitwood: Fruitwood
Badmotivator’s Barrels: Badmo Barrels
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skow69
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by skow69 »

Sounds like a hoot. I'm retired, so any day is usually ok for me.
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Desvio
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by Desvio »

Wow, just when something turnes up in my neck of the woods and I'll be out of town for work.... :cry:

I'll keep it on my radar just in case.
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OtisT
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by OtisT »

Saturday, Oct 28th. That is the date of the Distillery Crawl.

It would be good to have a ballpark number for the tours, so please let me know if you may or will make the Crawl. I've been telling them 4 to 6 people at this time. I don't need any firm commitments, and last minute guests are welcome.

I have three distilleries on board so far, and will line up a few more.

House Spirits Distillery. HSD does not have distillers in on the weekend but Liam, one of their distillers, offered to come in that day for the tour and he may join our Crawl. :-). IMHO, they make great craft spirits. One cool note is that all 4 of their tasting whiskies come from the same base. ( the white dog is really nice). This makes comparing/contrasting more interesting to a me, as I can identify what is base spirit and what is polishing. They also have two great rums.

New Deal Distillery. Also no distillers on the weekend, but their products are great and the staff is knowledgeable. I have yet to talk to Tom, the founder, to see if we can find a time with a distiller. We can tour regardless.

Rolling River Distillery. RRD has the nicest family of owners you will ever meet. Joan offered a distiller tour for our group on Saturday is we can come in early, before noon. This will be our first stop. RRD is known for eu de vie (so) and other clear spirits, though I was happy to see they recently bought a copper still and are working of some whiskey now.

I know folks at three other distilleries I have yet to approach about tours that day. Thomas & Sons, Vinn, and Stone Barn Brandyworks. There are a few other possibilities I will check into as well. I will update this list as new tours are lined up.

Otis
Otis’ Pot and Thumper, Dimroth Condenser: Pot-n-Thumper/Dimroth
Learning to Toast: Toasting Wood
Polishing Spirits with Fruitwood: Fruitwood
Badmotivator’s Barrels: Badmo Barrels
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Badmotivator
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by Badmotivator »

Sounds good. I'm at like 90% certainty. :)
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Medstiller
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by Medstiller »

I am in!


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Bushman
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by Bushman »

Not sure I will have the energy for a 4 hour drive as I am still in Germany. Currently in Naumburg.
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LWTCS
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by LWTCS »

@ Bushman,
Gonna be in Portland for ADI (March 26th thru 29th)?
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OtisT
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by OtisT »

Bushman wrote:Not sure I will have the energy for a 4 hour drive as I am still in Germany. Currently in Naumburg.
Certainly understandable if you cant make it. Maybe consider a car pool (short bus) with someone else from your area? ;-)
Otis’ Pot and Thumper, Dimroth Condenser: Pot-n-Thumper/Dimroth
Learning to Toast: Toasting Wood
Polishing Spirits with Fruitwood: Fruitwood
Badmotivator’s Barrels: Badmo Barrels
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nuntius01
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by nuntius01 »

sounds like a blast. to bad im in the middle of the country.
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post your still pics here
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Bushman
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by Bushman »

LWTCS wrote:@ Bushman,
Gonna be in Portland for ADI (March 26th thru 29th)?
Hoping to make it!
OtisT
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by OtisT »

Less than a week away, and the itinary is shaping up. :-)

Portland Distillery Crawl - Itinerary for Saturday Oct 28th

Parking and Travel
I recommend you find a full day parking spot in the area near our first distillery. I plan on using Uber when needed for transport between distilleries. I believe there is still some long term street parking in the area, but much of it is limited to a few hours.

10 am ish
Food. Location is tbd, but I know I’ll want to eat something before tasting. I will pick a place near our first distillery and will let folks know where that is if you are interested in meeting there for food.

11 am
We start at Rolling River Distillery
1215 SE 8th Ave, Unit H

12:30
Walk to New Deal Distillery
900 SE Salmon St

2:00
Uber (or 14 block walk) to House Spirits Distillery
65 SE Washington St

4:00
Uber to west side of Portland
Clear Creek Distillery
2389 NW Wilson St

5:00 ish
Either Bull Run or Aria Gin. Working on afternoon tour times.

End of day
Uber to East Side where our cars are at. On Saturday we will see if any folks want to grab dinner also after our day together.

In addition to the folks on HD, there will an additional three distillers who will be joining us. It’s shaping up to be a fun day. Hope yo can make it.
Otis’ Pot and Thumper, Dimroth Condenser: Pot-n-Thumper/Dimroth
Learning to Toast: Toasting Wood
Polishing Spirits with Fruitwood: Fruitwood
Badmotivator’s Barrels: Badmo Barrels
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Bushman
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by Bushman »

I am sorry I will miss this meeting but might I suggest another get together in March. The national ADI conference will be In Portland and I am pretty sure I will be attending. Might get a lot larger group as many of our members attend the national conference.
OtisT
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by OtisT »

Bushman wrote:I am sorry I will miss this meeting but might I suggest another get together in March. The national ADI conference will be In Portland and I am pretty sure I will be attending. Might get a lot larger group as many of our members attend the national conference.
Will miss ya this time, but hopefully in March... Great idea on the March meetup. If no one else starts a thread on that weekend, I’ll do so myself in a month or two to get word out.
Otis’ Pot and Thumper, Dimroth Condenser: Pot-n-Thumper/Dimroth
Learning to Toast: Toasting Wood
Polishing Spirits with Fruitwood: Fruitwood
Badmotivator’s Barrels: Badmo Barrels
OtisT
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by OtisT »

Tomorrow is the day for the Distillery Crawl. Two confirmed Yes’, three strong Likelies, and a long shot or two. There is room for more so if you can, please come join us for a day of responsible crawling at:

Rolling River Distillery
New Deal Distillery
House Spirits Distillery
Clear Creek Distillery
Bull Run Distillery

Hope you can join us. Otis
Otis’ Pot and Thumper, Dimroth Condenser: Pot-n-Thumper/Dimroth
Learning to Toast: Toasting Wood
Polishing Spirits with Fruitwood: Fruitwood
Badmotivator’s Barrels: Badmo Barrels
OtisT
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by OtisT »

Done at Rolling River. Just arrived at New Deal. Let more tasting begin. :-)
Otis’ Pot and Thumper, Dimroth Condenser: Pot-n-Thumper/Dimroth
Learning to Toast: Toasting Wood
Polishing Spirits with Fruitwood: Fruitwood
Badmotivator’s Barrels: Badmo Barrels
OtisT
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by OtisT »

Update: New Deal was awesome. We have moved on to House Spirits now, starting the tour soon. Great day so far.

FYI, I’m posting progress for those who plan to join us, but are not here yet.

Otis
Otis’ Pot and Thumper, Dimroth Condenser: Pot-n-Thumper/Dimroth
Learning to Toast: Toasting Wood
Polishing Spirits with Fruitwood: Fruitwood
Badmotivator’s Barrels: Badmo Barrels
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Badmotivator
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by Badmotivator »

My hat’s off to you, OtisT. You did wonderful work setting the whole thing up, and I’m grateful. It was a treat to meet you. Thanks again.
OtisT
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by OtisT »

The Portland Distillers Crawl yesterday was a blast. We need to do this again next March, during or around the ADA conference in Portland.

Yesterday there were four of us in total and we made it to all 5 distilleries on our list. As an added bonus we met the founder of our alternate distillery too, so I’m counting that 6. ;-) We capped the night off with good conversations and dinner at a local brew pub. :-)

I can’t thank the distilleries enough for the crawl. We met a lot of the Founders and Distillers along the way, and each distillery gave wonderfully long, in-depth, and hands on tours just for our group. They were expecting us at each location and we received the Industry Discount at each distillery. Wow, that was nice. The tasting room staff were well informed and a lot of fun. :-)

The absolute best part of the day was meeting up with HD folks BadMotivator, Medstiller, and with another friend who is a distiller at a local craft distillery. Great folks. I know I will be seeing them again.

I highly recommend each of the distilleries on this list. Each makes something that I consider IHMO to be a good drop, and each has a knowledgeable staff.

Rolling River - Personal tour with Joan, Rick, and Tim, the family that owns RR. My purchase at RR was their OLE BJ0RKEVOLL AQUAVIT.

New Deal - We spent a lot of time with Lucas and Lauren for tastings, and took a private tour with Tom, the Founder and “not master” Distiller. ;-). My purchase at ND was their Distiller’s Cut White Rum.

House Spirits Distillery – Fun Fact; Largest pot still west of the Mississippi. Lauren coordinated it all and Hillary was our tour guide, in full Vampire tooth and attire. While not a distiller, she definitely knows enough to be one and gave a very detailed tour. My purchase at HS was their KATUN rum.

Clear Creak Distillery – Fun fact; First licensed distillery in Oregon. Joe was our tour guide and we walked the spacious facility for quite some time. I purchased a bottle of their Pear Brandy.

Bull Run Distillery - This was our last distillery stop at the end of the day, and we did not have a tour scheduled. We did enjoy the company of their staff in the tasting room. I had blown my budget by this time, but I know Badmo bought a bottle of their High-Rye Bourbon.

Aria Gin - While we were at Bull Run sipping some fine whiskey, we met the founder of Aria Gin, Erik Martin. Aria was also on our original list to visit, but due to limited time it was not scheduled in. Erik was a pleasure to talk with and Aria Gin will be on my list for the next crawl.
Otis’ Pot and Thumper, Dimroth Condenser: Pot-n-Thumper/Dimroth
Learning to Toast: Toasting Wood
Polishing Spirits with Fruitwood: Fruitwood
Badmotivator’s Barrels: Badmo Barrels
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Medstiller
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by Medstiller »

Thanks for setting everything up. I had a good time and it was a pleasure to meet you


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Single Malt Yinzer
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by Single Malt Yinzer »

Glad you guys had fun. Too bad I'm on the wrong coast, it would have been fun to join in your shenanigans.
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jon1163
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Re: Portland Distillery Row Crawl

Post by jon1163 »

Id be in for another one in March. Maybe we could organize one near Seattle? I'd drive to Portland no problem though.
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