Sip Northwest, Fall 2016
BY BRETT KONEN AND ROBERT LECOMPTE All spirits are listed as 750 milliliter bottles unless otherwise indicated 58 S I P N O R T H W E S T C O M Best Newcomer Thomas Sons Distillery Portland Last spring saw the launch of Thomas Sons the new sister distillery of Portland based tea maker Townshends Tea Co producers of the popular Brew Dr Kombucha Deciding to take inspiration from their tea company the distillers at Thomas Sons have created an innovative and refreshing line of tea based spirits including tea and alpine liqueurs a Northwest infl uenced botanical fernet and a white rose spirit made with rose petals and white tea thomasandsonsdistillery com BEST FLAVORED VODKA 1ST PLACE Crater Lake Spirits by Bendistillery Hazelnut Espresso ORIGIN Bend OR CHARACTER Upon uncapping the bottle this cocoa colored 50 proof spirit releases all the bold breathe in aromas of esh coff ee beans roasted with precision These are rounded out by pure brown cane sugar and followed by a rush of hazelnut derived earthiness and tannins which carry across the palate to punctuate the a ertaste 25 craterlakespirits com 2ND PLACE Wild Roots Spirits Northwest Red Raspberry Infused Vodka 33 3RD PLACE Nightside Distillery Apple Pie 26 BEST VODKA 1ST PLACE Fremont Mischief ORIGIN Seattle CHARACTER Opening with aromatics at once mellow sweet and fl oral this Fremont Mischief vodkas winter wheat base peeks out on the nose before revealing itself in full on the palate A relatively light fi ltration program allows for a smooth supple mouthfeel and delicate notes of sandalwood to infl uence the fi nish 30 fremontmischief com 2ND PLACE Yaletown Distilling Co Craft 33 3RD PLACE Wishkah River Distillery Vodka Distilled from Honey 40
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