Hardware Distillery

[Bushman]

OlympicMountainDew I am spending a week at my mother-in-laws condo in your area. Thought I might check out the new distillery called Hardware Distillery in Hoodsport that opened just last week. Have you or any of the members in the area done the tour or visited the distillery yet?

[Bushman]

Update: The owners are very nice, he is a semi retired structural engineer and they have limited training but learned most from their son who owns a micro-brewery. It's a very small operation and they do a lot of experimenting for new products. The owner Chuck Morris was very generous at letting me see the whole set up and talk to him for over an hour while the costumers coming in were waited on by his wife also a partner in the operation. He has an alembic still and a dual pot/reflux still out of Italy as his main set-up with a much smaller looked like about a 15 gallon copper still for his experimentation. The prices were a bit on the high end but it's a small operation and probably need to be (so I supported them by buying a bottle as the tasting was free). One product I found interesting was their R-Gin. The barley for the gin is smoked at a local smokehouse. The smell of the barley in the jar was wonderful. When making their flavored drink everything goes in the still and is boiled on the grain.

Here is a link:
http://www.thehardwaredistillery.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Odin]

Sounds like a great approach to making a genever! Herbs in the boiler, grains in the boiler, malted barley.Thanks for the write up, Bushman!

Odin.

[Prairiepiss]

Sounds like a good time.

Not saying anything bad about the owner. Just a general observation.

I find it disturbing that so many of the distillerys are being opened by people with no experience. When there are a ton of us out here that have distilling experience. That would love to open a distillery. But can't because of time and money. It also disturbs me that a lot of them look at it as just a manufacturing business. Or a way to make a lot of money on a fad. Instead of an art.

Like I said nothing against this couple. It may have been one of their dreams for a long time. It's just a observation of the microdistiller industry as a whole. I can just buy a still and make spirits.

Or maybe I'm just a jerk. Who is upset cause I can't live my dream.

[Bushman]

Interesting read on it PP. This next year the ADI conference is in my area so I plan on attending. In their write up they chose Seattle because we have 70 micro distilleries in the state, 30 under construction, and 30 more in the works. It's going to make it a hard industry to succeed especially with the prices they have to charge. Also not mentioned but just south of us micro distilleries are really popping up in the Portland, Oregon area.

[Prairiepiss]

Sory my post was way off topic. So I won't post it.

Glad you had a good time bushman.

[OlympicMtDoo]

I was busy over the weekend so I had'nt seen your post yet Bushman, I haven't been by there when they were open yet but I will get there at some point, thanks for the report. Are ya still in the area? if so maybe we could hook up for a cup of coffee, send me a pm if you have any spare time.

[woodshed]

Good point PP but a lot of those will fall to the wayside. Just like the micro brew world only the quality will survive. A positive side from my perspective is as quality micro's help to educate the public to what is possible locally those who aren't up to snuff will go away. The micro distillery is in it's infancy. Growing pains and only some will sustain. I wish Hardware all the success in the world.
I did my first run with my granddad when I was knee high. Now I'm 50 and following through on my dad's dream of sellin likker to the masses. Would love to serve up a finger or two for ya someday.