Oregon Public Broadcasting

Many sectors of the economy are stuggling. But one niche industry appears to be growing in the Northwest. Small distilleries of fine spirits are sprouting up in Washington in the same way wineries and microbreweries took off years ago.

A 2008 state law gives hard alcohol makers some of the same rights to serve and sell as their brewing brethren.

Craft distillers in Washington hope this will allow their industry to grow as it has in neighboring Oregon. Inland Northwest correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.

Spokane’s Dry Fly Distillery began making vodka, gin and whiskey two years ago. It was the first legal hard liquor manufacturer in Washington since Prohibition. After an 80-year absence, it’s no wonder that when people think “distillery,” they think....

George Jones: “oooh...White Lightning....”

But Kent Fleischmann says Dry Fly isn’t looking to make moonshine that’ll blow the top of your head off. Fleischmann is the distillery’s co-owner. He says his company is making spirits with distinctive flavors.

Kent Fleischmann: “Most vodkas are made as a neutral, odorless, flavorless product and more designed as a base for drinks. But we knew going into this business that we didn’t believe that. We thought we could make something better.”

And apparently they have. In their first attempt, Dry Fly won the Best Vodka award at the recent San Francisco World Spirits Competition. That’s like the Oscars of hard liquor.

It joined seven other distilleries from Oregon and Idaho to win awards there.

Fleischmann and his fellow owner were among the driving forces behind the 2008 law that opened up Washington to other distilleries.

Kent Fleischmann: “It’s been conceived as somewhat of a challenging state since there were really no laws to kind of help distilleries exist or get started. Very high fees. Very restrictive laws.”

Now the fees are far lower. And the state has become more permissive. It allows distillers to directly serve small samples to customers. They can also sell those customers as many as two liters, or about a half-gallon, of spirits per day.

Brian Smith from the state Liquor Control Board says the new rules have given hard alcohol makers a reason to fire up their stills.

Brian Smith: “In less than a year, we have already approved five craft distillery licenses and we have 12 in the works.”

By comparison, there are more than 20 licensed distilleries in Oregon, whose rules were a model for Washington. And in Idaho, where facilities cannot sell their alcohol or even offer free samples, there are only five.

This is the Saturday morning routine at Dry Fly. Volunteers are working side-by-side on an assembly line. Their job? To bottle the distillery’s latest batch of vodka.

One man sanitizes bottles and hangs them upside down to dry. Then Dale Watkins takes the clean bottles and puts them under one of the four vodka spigots.

Dale Watkins: “They shut off by themselves. I just want to make sure it’s full.”

Bottles get corked, labeled and packed for shipping.

Dry Fly sells its goodies in nearly 30 states and two Canadian provinces.

Kent Fleischmann says business is good, even in a recession, even at 30-bucks for a three-quarter liter bottle. Why is that? He thinks localism has something to do with it.

The new state law mandates that at least half of a distillery’s raw materials come from Washington. He says Dry Fly’s vodka is made with wheat from the Spokane area.

Kent Fleischmann: “I think we’re finding that more and more people understand what this means to buy a bottle of Dry Fly, that it helps the small farmers, it helps the small business. You know you can keep it green by buying something that has been made here in Washington.”

In Ellensburg, in central Washington, distillery owner Berle Figgins is also using local wheat for his three whiskies.

Berle Figgins: “I like that 50-percent rule. I think if it were a hundred percent, I’d like it even better.”

At Soft Tail Spirits, north of Seattle, Dennis Robertson is using the grapes that flavor so many fine Washington wines to make grappa. That’s an Italian beverage flavored by the dregs of the grapes after wine is made.

In Sedro-Woolley, south of Bellingham, the Dukes Hill Distillery will soon make grape vodka, although co-owner Wendy Bardes hopes that someday they’ll also make a batch of moonshine.

George Jones: "ooohhh...White Lightning."

George Jones would be proud.