Artisan distillery surprise.

[mash rookie]

Wednesday on San Juan Island I was on a bicycle ride with friends. Riding a back road that I have ridden twenty times before. Riding along my buddy said hey the distillery is open. HUH? I had no clue there was a distillery a mile from his home. I have ridden past the blue metal building many times and the five acres of apple orchards just down the road.
Unknown to me they have been making hard cider there for several years. They recently added a still. They now make Apple brandy and Gin. "San Juan Island Distillery"
I tasted their three ciders and all four distil products. They make Apple brandy, apple jack gin and Neutral based gin with local botanicals. He let me poke around the still ask questions and take pictures.
The still is all copper five plate bubble cap. Maybe some one here will recognize the brand. The small still (just like the one on the parent site home page) was working away. He explained that they were making botanical concentrate. It was filled with botanicals mixed with neutral then distilled.
The apple brandy was tasty but I bought a bottle of their gin. I am not much of a gin drinker usually. Their gin has a unique taste. He didn’t tell all but noted Bark from a Madrona tree and other local botanicals with the juniper berries.

What surprised me the most was how small the operation was. They had at most bout 500 square feet of space. The still, Three 250 gallon fermenters, a bottling station and labeling machine.
These are cell phone pictures as I was not prepared for the pleasant surprise.

[wildrover]

Dang that still is purdy. Take more pictures next time you swing by there. So do they not have a mashtun because they don't deal with grains?

[Odin]

MR,

What a discovery! Why does this not happen to me? On the other hand, I am sure these things only happen to (or are apreciated by) homedistillers. Others would have biked by without taking notice, right? I would guess the still to be of that famous German manufacturer ... cannot come up with the name. Probably because I am enjoying the start of my weekend with a beer in stead of something more decent ...

Odin.

[Bull Rider]

M R:

Did you discuss distribution of their product? Washington State (as you know, but others may not) controls hard liquor sales and distribution from grain to glass.

As far as I know, a distiller has to sell their product only through a state liquor store. It's very difficult to get shelf space in a state liquor store, so it's almost impossible to get started. I think a distiller can sell up to two liters per customer per day over the counter.

More than half of the cost of liquor in Washington (and probably every other state) goes to state, local and federal taxes.

Thanks for sharing...