Copperworks Distilling Co.

In terms of becoming familiar with a new city, we all know that there's one thing that beats Yelp, TripAdvisor, and your type-A friend's alphabetized Google doc of recommendations every time, and that thing is boozing with the locals.

Copperworks has created custom barrel-aged gins for Seattle restaurants including Heartwood Provisions and The Metropolitan Grill. Chefs also tend to already know the specific flavor profiles they’re looking for, which helps expedite the process.

Copperworks’ master distiller came from the beer side, so the mash is excellent and worthy of drinking even before it gets distilled.

Seattle’s Copperworks released their version [of American Single Malt] using Old World artistry (including custom copper stills made in Scotland) with Pacific Northwestern ingredients. Like the other whiskies on their lineup, the single malt has beer-like qualities that come through from the distillers' (both former brewers) use of innovative brewing techniques in their process.

Seattle’s Copperworks Distilling turns out plenty of excellent whiskeys and gins, and maybe it’s not a coincidence that the city shares a climate notably similar to that of Scotland. While the releases change year to year—incredibly detailed spec sheets are available for the current release (click on the “production specifications link”) and all past releases—it’s reliably made with 100% malted barley and tends to mix fruity and vanilla tones. Release 022 was aged for a minimum of 29 months in new American oak. 53% ABV; $60

Distilleries like Copperworks partner with Skagit Valley Malting and other like-minded companies to craft what Parker refers to as non-commodity malts. “Instead of measuring our efficiency from farm-to-bottle, we measure the flavor from unique malts to bottle, and share these flavors as different whiskeys, rather than a standard release whiskey.”

Copperworks Distilling Co. is making a name for itself in the spirits world, by creating their award-winning spirits from actual craft beer recipes! When Jason Parker started in the fermentation game, it was way back in the late '80's ... on the beer side of things.

American whiskey is a varied drink. There are bourbons, ryes, blends, single barrels, and single malts to consider. Each expression offers its own levels of nuance - bringing forward certain flavors while pushing others to the background. These days, bourbon tends to take up a lot of the conversation about American whiskey.

"The Copperworks head distiller, Jason Parker, and I have a brewing background that ensures the beer remains the focus,” Krogstad says. If this whiskey were a beer, it would be a farmhouse ale, with a strong, heady aroma from the 30 months (minimum) it spends in American oak barrels.

Copperworks Single Variety Malt Whiskey is the first in a series of American single malt whiskey releases that will focus upon whiskeys made from “a single variety of barley grown on a single local farm in one growing season.”

Why did gin makers reverse course? When asking Washington distillers, you'll hear a variety of explanations. For Seattle-based Captive Spirits distiller Ben Capdevielle, aging their Big Gins in casks allows the makers to "create different expressions," and have "fun collaborations."

Those shiny, Instagram-friendly copper stills are a big hit with tourists who walk three blocks over from Pike Place Market. The main draw, though, is Copperworks’ American single malt,

Copperworks Distilling Co., which makes single malt, gin and vodka, has won best craft distillery in America. Share story Two Seattle brewers who started out making pale ales have won one of the top honors in the spirits industry, the title of best craft distillery in America.

[Copperworks] innovations range from technical—a cooling tower at Copperworks allows distillers to recirculate the same 500 gallons of water instead of going through 70,000 gallons a day—to ecological: they buy malt from salmon-safe farms in the area through programs like Mainstem Malt and Skagit Valley Malting.

Parker: The creativity and gumption of small distillers are going to blow the doors off of the spirits segment, just like they have done in brewing. And just like in that industry, small producers with mold-busting products and authentic stories will rise to the top. Consolidations will happen, but the game will play out more quickly than it has in the craft beer industry, as the big spirits producers have learned from watching what happens when they don’t pay attention to the game-changers soon enough.

The Washington State distillery boom during the last few years has been amazing. There are so many tasty spirits and liqueurs being made right here and I think we're the luckiest state in the Union. Sometimes, there's so much happening that it's hard to keep up.