microshiner - autumn 12
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MicroShiner is a media outlet dedicated to micro-distilling, craft spirits and small scale production.TRANSCRIPT
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Definitive guide to the world of craft spiritsDefinitive guide to the world of craft spirits
Montgomery Distilling Doors open at Missoula, Montana’s
first and only microdistillery
Swanson’s Mountain View Orchards
Adding value with aged apple brandy
and honey spirits
Portland hosts the 8th Annual
Great American
Distiller’sFestival
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CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTS featurefeaturefeature
Autumn 2012Autumn 2012Autumn 2012
121212
323232
404040
MontgomeryMontgomery
DistilleryDistillery
Great American Great American
Distiller’s FestivalDistiller’s Festival
Swanson’sSwanson’s
Mountain View OrchardsMountain View Orchards
craftcraftcraft
888 101010
MusicMusic
DesignDesign
565656 ArtisanArtisan
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Publisher Cobey Williamson
Contributing Editor
Noel Phillips
Art Director Annie Young
Working Dog Media LLC
1406 Summerdale Rd Corvallis, MT 59828
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Robin Johnson is a writer, Robin Johnson is a writer,
farmer,farmer, outdoorsman, and outdoorsman, and
Northwest native living in Port-Northwest native living in Port-
land, Oregon. land, Oregon.
He writes about science, agri-He writes about science, agri-
culture, the environment and, culture, the environment and,
more recently, the process of more recently, the process of
crafting the communitycrafting the community--
building fluids we love so building fluids we love so
much.much.
Brian Johnson is a freelance Brian Johnson is a freelance
photographer based in photographer based in
Missoula, Montana.Missoula, Montana.
He and his wife operate He and his wife operate
www.ayresphotography.com www.ayresphotography.com
Noel Phillips has been writing Noel Phillips has been writing
since she first encountered since she first encountered
crayons and primary pa-crayons and primary pa-
per.per. She has graduated to the She has graduated to the
world of laptops and freelance world of laptops and freelance
magazine writing but is still magazine writing but is still
known to pull those crayons out known to pull those crayons out
occasionally.occasionally. When she's not When she's not
writing, she may be hard to find writing, she may be hard to find
since she could be out climbing, since she could be out climbing,
hiking, backpacking, kayaking, hiking, backpacking, kayaking,
road biking, dancing, paddleroad biking, dancing, paddle--
boarding, or kicking clients’ boarding, or kicking clients’
butts at her personal training butts at her personal training
and yoga studio.and yoga studio.
contr ibutorscontr ibutorscontr ibutors
Email us: [email protected]
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Let ter f rom the publ isher
There is so much to love about the
craft spirit movement. Enjoying standing room
only and the best vodka I have ever tasted at Montgomery
Distillery during a First Friday, I can’t help but feel good
about being a part of this scene. Every single facet appears
bound and determined to stand a head above the rest. And
as I peel back the layers, I find the scale of its compass
to be truly inspiring.
Of the three, movement for me is most key. It’s where the rubber meets the road. You can have
craft, you can have spirit, but if there is no movement, where can it take you? Without movement,
the rest is a sealed room.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m first to take a flask to hunting camp or a tailgate, and I love that I can
now fill that flask with honey spirits from Swanson’s Orchard or with Quicksilver vodka from
Montgomery’s in Missoula. It thrills me to know that Lukas has barrels of brandy aging just up the
road and that I’m helping Ryan and Jenny get their business off the ground. But what really excites
me is the larger consequence that the significant growth in micro distilling implies.
There is a movement, to smaller, closer, more personal. It can be found in any industry you care to
look. From clothes and food to tools and custom motorcycles, people are seeking out small batch
production more and more. It’s certainly not the majority, but it can’t be overlooked.
Because it’s a movement. One that has only just begun.
Salute!
Cobey Williamson
Publisher
MicroSh iner
Each word of the label suggests a near infinite realm of
possibility. Craft. Spirit. Movement. Each expression
noteworthy in its own right and, when used together, capable of
evoking an alternate universe ably fashioned of quality, refinement, and
distinction. A world filled with superior goods, made by hand in well-formed
and thought out spaces by artisans who border on friends, and whose value is greater
than their mere economic worth. It’s bigger than a trend. It’s a movement.
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Rose’s Pawn Shop
I was enjoying a meal on the balcony of our local brewery with my in-laws when Rose’s Pawn
Shop started playing, and I had to get out of my seat to see just exactly who I was hearing. From the very first intro, I was sold, and
when I returned to our table I had a big grin on my face and it wasn’t from
the Nut Brown Ale. “New favorite band,” I told the wife.
What seals the deal with Rose’s for me, beyond their superb musicianship,
excellent songwriting, and unassuming style, is their almost undeniable ap-
peal. Before we left the brewery, my father-in-law bought their album. My
wife and her sister love them, and my boy has pretty much been reared on
Rose’s. Play the cut Dancing on the Gallows from the album of the same
name while cruising down the highway and you best prepare to see a two
year old in a car seat come unglued.
You really don’t get better than this blend of Appalachia and Hollywood.
Rose’s has the ferocity of Henry Rollins, the relevance of Woody Guthrie,
and the foot-stompin’ authority of an honest to goodness square dance
caller. Do yourself a favor. If they come to a venue near you, go see them.
You’ll be happy you did.
The latest offering from Rose’s Pawn Shop is called The Arsonist.
Craft: Music
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Larry and his Flask
The name says it all for Larry and his Flask.
There is no one in the band named Larry, and their sound
closely resembles a fire-breathing whiskey drunk. Their
fusion of punk rock and old timey is the musical equiva-
lent of the Coen Brothers combining No Country For Old
Men with Oh Brother Where Art Thou? You can either
like it or get the hell out of its way.
The true beauty of the Flask is their undying marriage to
the road. Live music is akin to Nirvana in the digital age,
and the Flask has it spades and brings it with a vengeance.
Getting a studio album out of them is like pulling teeth. Its
sucks before, and it’s no fun during, but it has to be done
and we’re better off for it. Here’s to the road, Larry.
Salute!
Pick up their latest EP called Hobo’s Lament
Traff the Wiz
Traff is to hip-hop music what craft distilling is to
spirits: he’s got the skills to hold it down with the best of them, but
he’s filled to the brim with local flavor. Born and bred under the big
sky of Montana, Traff overflows with small town American angst, but
wields the mic with a philosophical bent that would make a college
lecturer proud. He has the poet’s gift, able to express the universal
through the specific, and his rhymes are filled with homegrown props
and landmark drops that evoke landscapes and experiences that ring
true whether they are native or not. Like a shot of small batch whis-
key, Traff the Wiz gives you a taste of places you have never been
but already know, lights a fire in your belly, and then finishes smooth,
leaving you feeling warm and fuzzy and already coming back for
more.
Check out his latest drop Traffghanistan at
http://traffthewiz.bandcamp.com/album/traffghanistan
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Craft: Design
David Lyman Design - Lake Forest Park, WA
David Lyman’s LEED AP design and illustration practice has
focused on the hospitality industry for nearly 20 years. Working
with restaurateurs, hoteliers, casino and resort owners, his specialty
is the early, efficient study of a
client's intentions and goals. Collab-
orative communication of those
goals leads rapidly to conceptual
designs that allow the client to re-
main in control of the process.
Design Illustration is a
specialty, from Quick-
Sketch rapid visualization,
to fully-developed finished
Renderings.
All (or any) conceptual
design aspects are offered:
Floor Plan layout options, Site
Plan layout studies of any
scale, Architectural
Design and Interior Planning,
Tenant Improvement Layouts.
Using the time-honored combination of brain, eye, and hand,
David's sketch-design expertise allows for very time-effective
turnaround. He provides design drawings that actually make it
easy to understand where the project is going- and which allow
for change along the way. David offers Computer 3-D modeling,
another effective tool in designing and communicating ideas.
Contact David Lyman Design via: www.lyman-design.com
phone (206) 361-1355 or email at: [email protected]
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Photograph by Derek Young │ Guided Eye Photography
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Words by Noel Phillips │ Photographs by Brian Johnson
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Montgomery Distillery Missoula, Montana’s first micro-distiller offers craft spirits and a refined atmosphere
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It began as a joke. Ryan and Jenny Montgomery were looking to return to the States from
Malta (as in the island south of Sicily). They had a new son and wanted to raise him in Missoula, Montana, so they sat down
and created a list of businesses that would work well in this western college town.
“Number one was make whiskey, kind of as a joke,” Ryan explains, laughing. But then they started meeting with distillers and
realized that they might just have the golden ticket granting them access to life in Missoula. Home to a number of successful
craft breweries and a population passionate about supporting locally made product, Ryan felt it was the right place to build a
distillery. It was the sort of town that “seemed like a great place to try out new things.”
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Having no background in distilling
did not stop Ryan. He had experience in home
brewing, and enjoyed whiskey and cocktails, and
as he puts it, “a lot of businesses are started by
people that enjoy something and want to make it.”
Armed with his passion, he traveled to distilling
schools in Scotland and another put on by Dry Fly
Distillery out of Spokane, Washington, and
learned the art.
And make it he did. Vodka, to be specific. And
not just any vodka. Quicksilver Vodka stays true
to its Montana roots with its clean flavor and
slightly buttery mouth feel, instantly bringing to
mind the pure, crisp water of the high mountains
that surround Missoula and the locally harvested
wheat used in the distilling process. The 21 plate
rectifying column ensures maximum contact with
copper, removing the sulfites and providing the
clean taste vodka is known for.
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Vodka is not all Ryan has up his sleeves, though.
Whyte Ladie Gin, three types of whiskey, liqueurs, and shrubs
(mixtures of fruit, sugar and vinegar) will be on future menus. Mont-
gomery master distiller Ryan Newhouse was hard at work in the dis-
tillery beneath the tasting room with several varieties of shrubs, such
as rhubarb-cinnamon, honey, Dixon melon, Flathead cherry, and a
coffee liqueur made from beans from the local Black Coffee Roasting
Company. The gin, flavored with botanicals harvested from the
mountains, was just about to be tested, so consumers should see it on
the distillery shelves in the near future. Better buckle on some pa-
tience for the whiskey, though. It’s still three years out.
The liqueurs and shrubs, though, are already appearing on Montgom-
ery Distillery’s creative cocktail menu. Jenny Montgomery is the
brains behind the ever-changing menu that features drinks like the
Indian Summer, a refreshing blend of vodka, lime juice, agave syrup,
muddled strawberry, and jalapeno; and Fat-Washed Vodka, featuring
chilled vodka infused with acorn-fed hog fat and garnished with a
cheese-stuffed olive.
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Sitting at the handcrafted bar, a replica of one
owned and operated by Ryan’s great-great-uncle, beneath big game
mounts donated by the Boone and Crockett Club, it is easy to be
transported back to the late nineteenth century, a time when western
saloons tried to bring a little glamour to their rough environs by
emulating the upscale bars of New York and Chicago. The space
Montgomery Distillery occupies on Front Street in downtown Mis-
soula is no greenhorn when it comes to changing with the city. Its
previous incarnations include saloon, liquor store, bordello, gentle-
men’s clothier, farm equipment supplier, outdoor gear store, and
now distillery and tasting room.
Most distilleries are in industrialized areas, but Ryan believed it
was important to have a location in the heart of the city. He wanted
to “bring something to downtown that hasn’t been here before.” A
unanimous vote by the city council demonstrated that Missoula was
ready for something different as well.
Not only does Montgomery Distillery try to bring something new
and interesting to the marketplace with its well-crafted spirits, but
they also give back to the community in the way of charitable con-
tributions, and in maintaining an environmentally sound enterprise.
Waste produced through the distilling process is composted and
given as feed to pigs at a local farming collective and to companies
like Blue Marble Biomaterials.
Missoula has high expectations for its homegrown businesses, and
residents love their local products. Ryan Montgomery hopes to live
up to those expectations and “make people proud we are here.”
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The Great American The Great American The Great American
Distillers FestivalDistillers FestivalDistillers Festival
Port land br ings the wor ld of craf t sp i r i ts to the Pac i f ic Nor thwest at the 8th annual
Words and photos by Robin Johnson
It was a typically gray weekend in the Rose City,
and rain slapped the wet pavement of downtown Portland. The weather may have been cold
and dreary, but for about 1,000 admirers of fine liquor, the 8th annual incarnation of the Great
American Distillers Festival offered a warm refuge from the elements.
From every corner of the nation (and even one from Brazil), craft distillers descended on the
city of Portland, Oregon, in order to showcase their small batch liquors, as well as mix and
pour samples of their holiday specialty cocktails. Within the mass of finely-tuned blends,
all designed to conjure nostalgic remembrances of fall, three particular distillers managed to
marry a perfect combination of sweet and spicy essence that made their liquor come through
smooth and warm.
Louisville Distilling Co. poured a "Fallen Angel"; aptly named after
their Angel's Envy Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey which was the base liquor for the
drink. A combination of Ruby port, lemon juice, apple cinnamon fall syrup, aromatic bitters,
and orange peel (flamed, of course) was one of the three mixology contest winners.
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Sound Spirits of Seattle pulled out all the stops as well, inventing
their very own "Self Starter". The cocktail
is a mixture of their Ebb+Flow Gin, ab-
sinthe, Cocci Americano, and apricot
brandy. The strong absinthe flavor didn't
overpower, as it was only used to rinse
the chilled coupe that the drink was mixed
in. Sound Spirits is a landmark distiller in
the Northwest as Seattle's first distillery
since Prohibition. Their liquor has a lot to
live up to and it does so with humility.
Portland's own Bull Run
Distilling Co. poured the
most talked-about cocktail (likely due to
their use of pumpkin butter). The
"Temperance Harvest" was a mixture of
Bull Run's Temperance Trader Bourbon,
pumpkin butter, fresh lemon juice, An-
gostura bitters, and dry hard cider. The
drink was then finished with whipping
cream, more bourbon, and a dash of all-
spice. It's no doubt that on a cold, rainy
weekend, the most buttery drink got the
most buzz.
Although the event provided liquor enthu-
siasts with a variety of spirits, many dis-
tillers focused on bringing character back
to vodka, claiming that many large distill-
eries have saturated the vodka market
with odorless and tasteless vodkas.
Instead, distilleries like OYO (out of
Ohio) and Dry Fly (of Eastern Wash-
ington) make their vodka from scratch
and use locally sourced soft white wheat
to produce a round, flavorful alcohol.
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By their careful distilling
process, oily fusil alcohols are removed
without sacrificing the integrity of the vod-
ka. These legitimate vodkas instill a sense
of place within the drinker distinctively re-
flective of their origins. Dry Fly won the
World's Best Vodka in 2009 and was the
first distillery in Washington State, essen-
tially writing the laws for future Washing-
ton distilleries.
Portland's own distilleries had a strong
presence at the event, their products stand-
ing out and their booths swarmed. But as
seems to be the case with northwest micro
distilleries, these crafters are still new to the
market. According to the folks at Portland’s
New Deal Distillery, there
was no micro distilling industry at all when
they tried to get their start in 2001. New
Deal paired up with other distillers in the
area and formed Distillery Row, a commu-
nity of practicing distillers in Southeast
Portland who would break into the industry
together through what could be called a dis-
tiller's incubator. Now, after 9 years, people
are finally becoming aware of the move-
ment as the industry matures.
Thanks to successful events such as the
Great American Distiller's Festival, the
craft movement is not only alive but thriv-
ing in the Pacific Northwest. And although
competition is tough, distillers throughout
the nation are finding at these forums the
inspiration to create better spirits all across
the country. Expect liquor devotees to be
eagerly awaiting next year's Festival, where
they can retreat from the omnipresent Port-
land drizzle and warm themselves from the
inside out.
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Photograph by Taylor Stasulas
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Photography by Derek Young │ Guided Eye Photography
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Swanson’sSwanson’s Mountain View OrchardsMountain View Orchards
& Distillery& Distillery
A fourth generation apple grower finds a niche for himself and his products in the world of craft spirits
Words and photos by Cobey Williamson
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“If you can’t taste the ingredients,
what’s the point?”
If you were out to find the embodiment of small batch production,
you need look no further than Lukas Swanson’s distillery. It’s a one man operation,
situated on the family apple orchard in Corvallis, Montana, and the apple brandy and honey spirits it produces have Lukas’ hands on them
from end to end.
“It’s the only distillery in the state of Montana that grows, ferments, distills and bottles their product,” Lukas says.
Established in 1909 by Lukas’ great grandfather, Swanson’s Mountain View Orchards has been family owned and operated for four genera-
tions. A surplus crop in 2007 got Lukas thinking about alternative sources of revenue and new outlets for their product. When he looked out
east he found many orchards were making wine or distilling, and the business model appealed to him.
That was also the year that micro-distilling became legal, and Lukas considered it a growth market. After some diligent research and plan-
ning, he began the process and became a licensed distiller in January 2011.
With a wealth of raw ingredient, apple brandy was the logical product of choice. Lukas also saw a niche.
“If you go down to the liquor store,” he says. “Good brandy is hard to find.”
He also points out that there is nostalgia for products such as hard cider and apple jack. When people come to an apple orchard, he notes,
they want an apple based product.
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Lukas’ first run of traditional apple brandy will be aged
three years in charred white oak. He tests his product in ten gal-
lon barrels, experimenting with three different levels of toasting
and charring, however Lukas makes a point to never allow the
barrel aging to overshadow his ingredients. His upbringing as an
apple man shines through in his distilling philosophy, which is to
create value added agricultural products, not just booze.
“If you can’t taste the ingredients, what’s the point?” he asks.
“That’s the line I don’t want to cross with what I make.”
With his first batch of brandy barreled and aging, Lukas turned
his attention on making spirits from honey. First he distills honey
mead then ages it for one year, imparting the unique honey spirit
with a sweet flavor reminiscent of bourbon. He likes the charac-
ter and balance, but depending on demand may experiment with
longer aging. Aging, he explains, is driven by demand.
It’s these simple principles of micro-economics that hold so much
allure for many involved with small batch production. Distribu-
tion, on the other hand, is an entirely different animal.
Alcohol distribution in Montana follows the three tier system,
and the State of Montana maintains a monopoly on wholesaling.
All sales to retailers must originate, physically, from the state
warehouse in Helena, a service for which the state takes a sizea-
ble percentage. Still, this doesn’t deter Lukas or detract from his
savvy business sense and obvious enthusiasm.
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“That’s the line I don’t want to cross with what I make.”
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“That’s the line I don’t want to cross with what I make.”
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“It doesn’t make sense to me the way the system is set up, but it is what it is,” he says.
“Right now, I’m not looking to get into that and I’m not at that scale.”
The system of state wholesalers and distribution networks seems stacked against the smaller distilleries who, even if they can afford to
participate, still have to find a way to market their products to retailers, but Lukas remains optimistic. The volume of retail traffic the
apple and cider products bring through the orchard provide him with ample exposure, and he hopes that changes in the future will
make the retail environment more favorable.
For now he intends to let the business dictate growth, not committing to any particular track or invest too heavily in any one thing. His
plan is to pay off his current investment in equipment and expand the distillery into the main apple and cider processing facility in
order to capitalize on shared resources and efficiencies. For Lukas, a Cornell graduate with a background in physics and chemistry
and a master’s degree in applied engineering, time is an asset.
“With distilled products, shelf life is value added,” he says.
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Photograph by Mariah Harper
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Photograph by Vincent Buckley │ VBuckley.com
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D. Blair
Moore
Artisan:
D. Blair Moore is an artist who makes
things that serve a purpose. A blacksmith by trade, he
trained at the Missoula College of Technology and was mentored in the craft by the
American College of the Building Arts and master blacksmiths in Madison, Wisconsin.
Having done the plug and weld kind of job, which he calls “fun but not quite as enter-
taining,” he began to realize the opportunities in creating steel objects. Currently he
focuses on functional home accessories and artistic hardware that can be built on a
small scale and kept on hand but he notes, “bring me an idea and I’ll do my best
to get it done.”
DBM Blacksmith exemplifies the notion of small batch, hand built
production, where clients have the opportunity to meet the person making the product
and provide input to the process. D. Blair Moore creates made-to-order and custom
steel objects that reflect both his distinct style and his client’s personal taste.
Based in Missoula, Montana, DBM Blacksmith is available for both
on-site projects and delivered goods. Visit his website and Etsy store to learn more
about his operation and to find an assortment of his handmade metal items including
barbecue utensils, ornamental copper roses, and candlestick holders.
DBM Blacksmith
www.dbmblacksmith.com
www.etsy.com/shop/DBMblacksmith
email: [email protected]
phone: 406.531.5220
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Photography by DBM Blacksmith │ DBMblacksmith.com
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Photograph by Vincent Buckley │ VBuckley.com
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Photograph by V
incent Buckley │
VB
uckley.co
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Join the movement small batch revolution
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