Spirits

We began distilling so that we could make Armagnac-style aged Apple Brandy. Our first Brandy release in 2014 won a Gold Medal and Best in Class at the American Craft Distillers Association. Since then, we’ve been producing and aging our Apple Brandy and it just keeps getting better and better.

Brandy and Pommeau

Apple Eau de Vie: Unaged Apple Brandy, not for the faint of heart. It is deliciously apple-y, but also tastes quite high proof, even though it is typically ~40% (80 proof). We sip it as an after-dinner drink in very small amounts.
Apple Brandy: Rich, warm, earthy and full of flavor, our Apple Brandy has notes of peach and toasted nuts.
Pommeau: An aperitif or digestif that is full of apple flavor and tannic sweetness. It is lovely over ice to wake up your taste buds before a meal, perfect after dinner, and also an excellent alternative to sweet vermouth in any cocktail.

How we make them

We put 50 gallons of hard cider into our copper brandy still and run it. What comes out is about 4 cups heads (mostly methanol), 2 gallons hearts (ethanol) and then 3-4 gallons tails (a mix of ethanol with fusil oils or higher alcohols).

Heads are poisonous (not for drinking!) and we use them for cleaning and killing weeds.

Hearts are the most delicious and apple-forward part of the distilling run and are used in two ways: 1- bottled for Eau de Vie, 2 – collected into limousin oak barrels and set aside to age.

Tails get batched and redistilled to make other spirits (see Gin & Vodka, Liqueurs and Brandies)

The aging process takes a minimum of 3 years. Each barrel is named after one of the family grand-kids (9 of them) and the proceeds from the sales of their barrel goes to their college fund.

We’ve been aging our brandy since 2011, and each year we make a little bit more and it gets a little bit better.

A challenge with any aged product is finding ways to refresh barrels. The role of a barrel in the aging process is to add tannins and flavors to the spirits as they age. With most products, the barrels are eventually “spent” and have to be discarded & replaced.

But in the centuries-old Cider and Brandy process, there’s an elegant and delicious solution that allows barrels to be re-flavored and also produces one of the yummiest things we make: Pommeau. Pommeau is a fortified cider, kind of like port is a fortified wine. We mix partially fermented cider with young Apple Brandy and age it for two years or so. And voila; that barrel is now ready for Apple Brandy again.

How to store them

Bottled Apple Brandy and Eau de Vie can last decades -- just recork between uses.

Once opened, Pommeau needs to stay in the fridge to keep it from losing flavor to oxidation; in the fridge, it will keep for months or more.

Spy Hop Gins

Unlike brandy, where the original fruit wine (cider for us) sets the direction for the final product, Gin is a blank slate and a challenge to a distiller's skills. Existing alcohol gets distilled again with juniper (the one required ingredient) and other botanicals. Which other botanicals to include and in what amounts is totally up to the distiller, so an infinite number of gins are possible, but only a fraction of those possibilities are worth drinking. Our delicious gins are the product of extensive and ongoing experimentation. We love to play with using foraged, seasonal tastes of the island. We continue to experiment with new foraged botanicals for new Gin flavors, so it's a good idea to visit often and taste what’s new and in season.

Apple-Based Gins

The redistilled “tails” from the brandy making process generate a new round of apple-flavored “hearts” that we use to make our unique,apple-based gin. These gins are soft, full of flavor and complex.

Harvest Select: Our flagship gin starts with a core set of classic gin botanicals like juniper, star anise, and cardamom, but what makes it distinct and completely delicious are its San Juan Island flavors: lavender, blackberries, madrone bark, and wild roses, among others. It is delightfully floral and soft, and not very juniper-forward. We love to sip it on its own, poured over a big ice cube, and it makes stellar cocktails when the recipe involves citrus.
Citrus: This is Harvest Select with a twist: we soak five kinds of citrus peels in it for a week before bottling. The result is a huge bloom of citrus on the nose and in its taste.
N o 5: The fifth gin Suzy invented changes Harvest Select in two ways. First, we use our hyper-local tiny Salish juniper berries (Latin name Juniperus Maritima). Adds earthiness and more juniper nose, but not that 'chewing a pine cone' taste. Also adds angelica root for great aromatics and more mouthfeel.
Navy Strength: Harvest Select at 57% alcohol instead of 42%: same flavors in greater concentration (think more gin, less water in the bottle). Terrific to sip slowly over a big ice cube or for a Martini.

Grain-Spirit Gins

These gins are made starting with a flavorless grain spirit, which is how almost all the world's gins are made. All botanicals produce their own flavor with no enhancement or competition, as happens with our apple-based gins. As a group, these are aromatic, crisp, and refreshing.

Spy Hop: The same botanical blend from our Harvest Select, but this time on a neutral base, so the botanicals really come through. A lovely cocktail making gin, but also delicious for sipping.
Salish Gin: Swaps out Eurasian juniper and instead uses our hyper-local tiny Salish juniper berries (Latin name Juniperus Maritima). Adds earthiness and more juniper nose, but not that 'chewing a pine cone' taste. One of our favorites over an ice cube and makes the best Martinis.
Barrel-Aged Gin: We pour Spy Hope into a 10-gallon barrel for a six-month rest. The trick is to let the barrel add the caramel and vanilla notes valued in Whiskeys without losing the gin flavors. Good for cocktails, but spectacular just over an ice cube.

Seasonal Gins

Every 6-8 weeks, the island changes: New things grow, bloom, and fruit, and we spend time collecting botanicals to make grain-spirit gins reflecting these micro-seasons. Some examples with their seasons:

Stinging Nettle: March/April & October
Elderflower: May/June
Pride (rainbow of fruits): June
Seaside: June - September
Thimbleberry: July
Salal Berry: August
Chanterelle: October/November
Hawthorne Berry: December

Other Spirits

Blackberry Vodka: Naturally flavored and sweetened. Just redistilled with blackberries and madrone bark. Lovely flavor.
Aquavit: a Scandinavian spirit required to have caraway seed and dill, with other botanicals up to the disitller. We go light on caraway and add lots of other things, so this is flavorful enough to sip or mix instead of just tossing back shots!