Spiritual Awakening

Spent a fun Saturday last at the 5th Annual Great American Distillers Festival in Portland.

It's a gathering and celebration of small craft distillers from around the country, as well as a mixology competition sponsored by the Oregon Barternders Guild (and for that matter, the Washington Bartenders Guild as well).

Great time, very one-on-one with the distillers and their products, and fun to watch (and get free samples!) the mixologists at work concocting their drinks for the judges.

Just as with wine, there are some great small batch/artisanal/craft distillers out there making some exceptionally good spirits (okay, some questionable ones too, but that's what you get with creative ferment).

I opine at greater length on my blog...

Was Rehorst represented by any chance?

Was Rehorst represented by any chance?

Didn't see 'em, Dave.

What do they do?

Actually I think they may go by the name Great Lakes Distillery but some of the bottles are labled as Rehorst. They make vodka, flavored vodka, gin, "absinthe" and brandies.

http://www.greatlakesdistillery.com/index.htm

Okay. I googled them, Dave, and I wish they had been at the Festival. Looks like an interesting group of guys and products.

I could do without the gratuitous swipe at other distillers ("We’re a bit of an anomaly in the spirits business -we actually make our own products!"---News Flash, guys: Other people do too. Needless, and makes you look bad.).

Also, they seem to have a problem distinguishing between Artisan Fruit Brandies (Eau-de Vie) and Grappa. Two very different things.

Beyond that nit picking, as I said, looks like they have some pretty interesting products.

Hey, I'm gonna make a quick visit to Milwaukee soon. Maybe I'll have a chance to visit or taste their product. Thanks for the tip.