2017 TOAST - Oregon Distillers Guild

The 2017 Oregon Distillers Guild show TOAST, was full of great food and a great drink.  34 distilleries, 5 companies selling cocktail related ingredients and 5 top notch restaurants made sampling a fun and exciting venture.

I was very excited to see plenty of herbal entries such Stone Barn Brandyworks Nocini, Rolling River Aquavit, and Thomas and Sons Fernet and Alpine Liqueur.

Restaurants

Boke Bowl

Proletariat Butchery / Elkhorn Farm and Forge

Smokehouse Tavern

Verdigris Restaurant

The Waiting Room

Non Distillers

Sage and Sea Farms (drinking vinegar) 

Improper Goods (Bitter Housewife and Raft Syrups)

Portland Soda Works

Bradley's Tonics

Interrobang Vermouth

Distillers 

4 Spirits Distillery

Aria 

Backdrop Distilling

Big Bottom Distilling

Bull Run Distilling Co.

Clear Creek Distillery

Crater Lake Spirits

Crescendo Organic Spirits

Double Circle Spirits

Drink Think representing several distilleries

Eastside Distilling

Elixir Craft Spirits

Flooded Fox Den Distillery

Heritage Distilling Co.

Hood River Distillers

House Spirits Distillery

Indio Spirits

Intrepid Distilling

JVR Spirits

McMenamins

New Basin Distilling Co.

New Deal Distillery

Oregon Spirit Distillers

Pilot House Distilling

Ransom Spirits

Rogue Spirits

Rolling River Spirits

Sinister Distilling Co. 

Stein Distillery

Stone Barn Brandyworks

Swallowtail Spirits

Thomas & Sons Distillery

Vinn Distillery

Walter Collective

Industrial Row Dystopia Vodka Review

Most grain to bottle distilleries lately have been focused on distilling whiskey, which has had a huge resurgence in the US and worldwide spirits market.  However, I was surprised to find a local company here in Portland that is focused solely on making vodka.  As you may or may not know, the vast majority of all vodka brands produced in this country, which includes most “craft” vodkas, are made from corn-based neutral grain spirits produced in huge industrial distilleries and shipped in tanker trucks.

Industrial Row Dystopia Vodka is made grain to bottle from soft winter wheat and rye from local and very well know Bobs Red Mill.  It is single distilled through a double column copper pot still named Clausius, after Rudolf Clausius who came up with the mathematical representation of the second law of thermodynamics.

The vodka has a nose that is lightly sweet, hints of peeled banana and orange blossom. Velvety smooth texture, flavors hints of melon and multigrain bread, with light heat and dryness on the finish. A single ice cube for a minute makes this vodka smooth as silk.

Industrial Row has a fine product in their Dystopia Vodka.  The single distillation is remarkably smooth and yet still retains character from its local grain source.  Vodka is generally a flavorless spirit, so be prepared, Dystopia Vodka is lightly sweet, unique and enjoyable.

The Liquorist Blog

Brugal Anejo Rum and a Time & Oak Element

Brugal Anejo Rum is one of my go to rums.  It’s moderately priced, is excellent neat and even better in a cocktail where you want to actually taste the rum.  A 3 to 5 year blend such as this is a perfect experiment for a Time & Oak Element.

12 hours in we get some light oak and funky flavors added.
24 hours later and the rum is very smooth, with no heat and a little less sweet.
48 hours, and the rum tastes very mature, more like an 8 year old rum, lightly sweet, smooth with no burn.



For rums 48 hours seems to be the sweet spot, at 72 hours the element made it fairly funky.  Brugal Anejo Rum is great choice for using your elements.

The Liquorist Blog