PORTLAND, ORE. — Whether it’s food trucks, bike lanes, breweries or beard length, Vancouver’s plaid-shirted cousin to the south has always seemed ahead of us by a few years. So it’s no surprise that as Vancouver dips its toes into the groggy world of craft distilleries, Portland has been belting out delicious booze in the open for more than a decade now.
While Portland’s 50-plus microbreweries are spread across the city like a lumberjack on a bender, its distilleries tend to be more concentrated. Of the 22 distillery members in the Oregon Distillers Guild, 10 call Portland home, with six located in the mixed industrial-residential neighbourhood known as Central Eastside. Savvy marketers have even branded the area “Distillery Row,” where intrepid imbibers can get in touch with their spirit-ual side — the effects of which clearly haven’t worn off me yet. More organized alcohol explorers can also pick up a $20 Distillery Row Passport, which includes access to the distilleries, a cidery and a winery, maps, waived tasting fees and a whack of discounts for local restaurants, bars, shops and accommodations. On top of it all, a number of Portland restaurants and bars, such as Clyde Common under the Ace Hotel, and the understated and refined upstairs Secret Society near the Wonder Ballroom, make a point of using local spirits in their cocktails.
My journey, however, like many expeditions into the wilds of Cascadia, begins with a hearty lunch — in this case Andy Ricker’s food-truck-turned-celebrated-restaurant Pok Pok on somewhat-nearby SE Division, yet another of Portland’s “up and coming” neighbourhoods. After fueling up on fresh-as-heck Thai and South Asian dishes, including Pok Pok Papaya Salad and Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings and a surprisingly refreshing glass of soda water mixed with Pok Pok’s Thai basil drinking vinegar, I was ready to show my liver some love.
Launched in 2004, New Deal Distillery (900 SE Salmon St.) is one of Portland’s first craft distilleries, which in my book makes affable founder Tom Burkleaux the unofficial ambassador of Distillery Row. He says New Deal started making vodka, its flagship product, because it’s relatively quick to produce compared to bourbon and other spirits, which can take years of aging. This year, New Deal moved into more spacious digs, where customers can admire the recently imported copper column stills from Germany, which resemble set pieces from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, and sample the distillery’s award-winning offerings. Favourites included the New Deal Gin No. 1, which its maker calls a “winter gin,” and the spicy Hot Monkey Vodka, which kicks it up a notch thanks to a “secret blend” of five Southwestern-style chili peppers. However, top of the pops had to be the Ginger Liqueur, which I’ve noticed Americans like to pronounce “le-core.” Made with organic ginger root, cane sugar and a hint of agave nectar, it was both intense and refreshing. “It’s like fresh ginger in a bottle,” says Burkleaux. I have to agree with the guy.
Around the corner you’ll find Eastside Distilling (1512 SE Seventh Ave.). What the space lacks in ambience, it makes up for in selection. And while I was less enthused with the distillery’s flavoured offerings such as Cherry Bomb Whiskey and Holiday Egg Nog “Advocaat” Liqueur (once again, pronounced “le-core”), its line of Below Deck rums hit the spot. Same goes for the Burnside Bourbon, named after the civil war general, U.S. senator, facial hair maverick and sideburns namesake Ambrose Burnside. Although I’m told he’s not the same Burnside that the nearby Burnside Bridge and Burnside Street are named after. Mind blowing stuff, I know.
If it’s quintessential Portland style and charm you’re after, look no further than House Spirits Distillery (2025 SE Seventh Ave.). The cozy storefront sells cocktail supplies, recipe books and an array of handcrafted spirits, including its Aviation American Gin, a tasty coffee liqueur (there’s that pronunciation again) made from rum derived from Barbados molasses and blended with cold-pressed coffee from Portland’s Stumptown Coffee Roasters, and two kinds of Krogstad Aquavit, which I think is Scandinavian for “This will not end well.” Even the distillery’s old school bottles and apothecary-inspired labels are a thing of beauty.
Continuing the circle of life, House Spirits ships its used Aquavit barrels to the furthest reaches of Portland, the ‘burb of Milwaukie actually, where Breakside Brewery (5821 SE International Way, Milwaukie) concocts a beguiling anise and honey-tinged beer called Aquavit Barrel-Aged Braggot. Although I was initially suspicious of a brewery named after an Ultimate Frisbee term, its mad scientist approach to brewing and an ambitious beer list (the brewery released close to 100 different beers this year) won me over.
Full of beer, booze and Thai food, there was one last bit of alcohol-related exploration I had to fulfill before hanging up my buckskin jacket for the night. Back at the hotel room, a box of artistically painted truffles from Ladybug Chocolates awaited, and the one filled with rum had my name written all over it.
If you go:
For more information on Portland and Distillery Row, go to travelportland.com and distilleryrowpdx.com.
Accommodation wise, the Heathman Hotel offers lovely luxury digs in a circa-1927 building downtown near the Morrison Bridge. If hipper, cheaper and closer to Distillery Row is more your style, jump across the Burnside Bridge to the Jupiter. For the more budget conscious who don’t mind flower bedspreads with an unintentional 1980s feel, you could do worse than crossing the road to the Eastside Lodge.
