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FOOD: WHERE THE YOUNG AND POWERFUL DINE | DRINK: A GUIDE TO AREA DISTILLERIES FASHION: A DAY AT THE MALL | LUXURY TRAVEL: SKI UTAH WITH ROBERT REDFORD MY WASHINGTON: CHEF ERIC ZIEBOLD OPENS KINSHIP PERFORMING ARTS: ARENA STAGE REVISITS THE GEORGETOWN SALON
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special feature | local distilleries
A Taste of Success
A spirited group of entrepreneurs bring homegrown drinks to the Washington area By Erica Moody
M
ove over, beer and wine. Spirits are here. If you hadn’t noticed, craft distilleries
are popping up across the District, and they’re influencing the way we drink, what’s served in our bars and restaurants, and even liquor-related legislation. In 2012, New Columbia Distillery became the first Washington distiller to open since before Prohibition, paving the way for fellow Ivy City-based operation One Eight Distilling and others to open their doors. According to Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration specialist Jessie Cornelius, there are four distilleries (class A manufacturers) currently licensed in the District, most recently Jos. A Magnus & Co. We also hear rumors of a fifth in Ivy City, that Northeast hotbed of Washington entrepreneurship. Virginia’s wine country attracts thousands of visitors each year to its more than 200 wineries and
Sandy Wood and Alex Laufer (Photo by Jason Falchook, One Eight Distilling)
is now home to a new crop of distilleries — among them Purcellville’s Catoctin Creek, winner of the 2015 RAMMY award for best regional food or beverage producer and a pioneer in the local spirits industry. With a woman distiller at the helm, it’s also helping to change the face of a male-dominated industry. >>
District Made: One Eight Distilling In 2012, Alex Laufer received an email from his former Vassar roommate, Sandy Wood, pitching a crazy idea — why not quit their jobs in law and biotech and go into business together? A longtime spirits enthusiast, Laufer was swayed, and Wood was thrilled — he knew Laufer would be the perfect person to handle the production side of things, an area that intimidated him. Things progressed quickly. Less than a year later, One Eight Distilling was born, but only after its founders completed a few eye-opening internships, including a very intensive one with Smooth Ambler Distilling in West Virginia to learn all aspects of what goes into running a successful distillery. Now, their own operation is becoming known for uniquely flavored rye spirits that use
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all natural ingredients. Try the Ivy City Gin for a botanical-infused drink that tastes as good neat as it does in the cocktails you can find in many of Washington’s best restaurants (approaching 70 at the time of this article). “We want to stay as local as possible,” Wood says. He and Laufer currently work primarily with an organic farm on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and one in Culpepper, Va. to grow the grains. Regarding the curious name One Eight Distilling, the former lawyer explains:“It’s a little bit of legal geekery. In Article 1 Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, there is a short paragraph calling for the establishment of the nation’s capital.We wanted something connected to the city and its origins.” Their product names celebrate the city of Washington: Ivy City Gin, Rock Creek Whiskey, District Made Vodka. Philanthropic efforts are focused on Ward 5 where they’re based, a neighborhood that has embraced the distillery wholeheartedly. One dollar from every bottle of Ivy City Gin sold in Washington goes to Habitat for
Humanity in support of ongoing projects in the area. A recent collaboration with DC Central Kitchen raised funds for the organization’s culinary job training program, and a partnership with the Washington Humane Society brought guests to the distillery for the canine-friendly cocktail party “Whiskers & Whiskey.” Their local collaborations get even more creative. For a new series of aged spirits, they loaned out barrels to DC Brau to age its Penn Quarter Porter, then refilled them with bourbon. They also partnered with Vigilante Coffee for a new whiskey flavor. “They’re really great roasters, so they aged the beans in our barrels and made this coffee which was delicious and then put our whiskeys back in there. So, they have a whiskey-flavored coffee and we will have coffee-flavored whiskey.” That’s a whiskey we want to try, from two dedicated friends making changes in the District. “Right as we were opening up, we helped draft legislation for the consumption permit that allows us to pour cocktails,” Wood says. According to Cornelius, a permit that went into effect in 2015 now allows a distillery to sell
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its products on site in cocktails for the first time. “It’s the hardest I’ve ever worked,” Laufer says, “but it sure doesn’t feel like it. This job gives you energy. It’s been the most interesting and rewarding thing.”
Becky and Scott Harris (Photo by Tony Powell)
Try At Home:
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western whiskey: Catoctin Creek In the quaint downtown of Purcellville, Va., a family-owned business is breaking the mold and challenging convention. Certified organic, kosher, sustainable, with production run by a woman whiskey-maker, Catoctin Creek is certainly not your run-of-the-mill (pun intended) distillery, and Scott and Becky Harris never intended it to be. Inspired by a 2009 trip to Ireland’s Bushmills distillery, the couple decided to follow their dream. “Scott likes to say being in government contracting taught him a great love of drinking,” Becky Harris says with a laugh. “When he came to me with the idea, I thought he was crazy but told him to work out a business plan and then we’ll talk.” He did, and they took 20 years of savings to buy a still and get started (“at the worst part of the recession” she notes), with Becky leaving her chemical engineering job to work full-time from the beginning. Seven years later, the business is booming. They distribute up and down the East Coast, as well as to Singapore, Hong Kong, Europe and most recently Australia. They were able to move locations from a tiny warehouse (wedged between a car repair shop and an electrician) to a spacious, visitor-friendly building that was renovated to be as environmentally friendly as possible. With 48 solar panels in the ceiling, the distillery boasts Loudoun County’s largest solar array.“We try to keep as close to zero waste as we can,” Becky says, adding that all their spent mash
goes to the farmers. Becky speaks passionately about being a woman in an industry that is “heavily dominated by the typical profile: mostly white males … from distilling all the way to marketing and sales.” Nonetheless, the status quo is beginning to change. “We want to bring a different perspective,” she says. “With most family-run distilleries, the wife runs the business side and the husband runs the production side. We flipped that because of who we are and what our skills are. This has had an influence on the flavor of our spirits and tends to make them more accessible to everyone, which is a cool thing.” They are both starting to see more and more women coming to the fore and they think that will be good for the spirits business as a whole. “More people with a diversity of backgrounds, flavors and experiences opens up the categories and makes it much more interesting.” Becky says. She believes that Catoctin Creek’s 50/50 male-female demographic has been good for whiskey,. “Our flavor profile is equally appealing to men and women. It’s not sweet but it reads as very fruity and smooth.” Their brandies are beloved by patrons of Washington’s top restaurants, including Takoma Park’s Republic. “If people only knew the cool things you can do with brandy,” Becky muses.“We keep waiting for brandy to have its moment.” Brandy may still be waiting, but Scott and Becky Harris have arrived.
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Tim Gunn Cocktail • 1-2 oz Roundstone Rye whisky • 1.5 oz Maple Syrup • 1.5 oz Chai Pear shrub (make your own, or use Element Shrub from DC) • Splash of soda • Lemon peel garnish • Dash of cherry bitters Mix the rye, maple and shrub in a cocktail shaker of ice. Strain into a rocks glass with a nice big ice cube. Splash in a little soda water, garnish with lemon, and add a dash or two of cherry bitters on top.
| washingtonlife.com
>> George Washington’s Mount Vernon Want a bit of history with your whiskey? Head to the first president’s home to get insight into the distillery that, at the time of George Washington’s death, was the largest one in America. Visit for a demonstration of old-time whiskey making, as experts in period garb explain step by step how its done. Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.. www. mountvernon.org
>> Lyon Distilling For delicious rum, head to this Eastern Shore distillery. In business since 2012, Lyon stands out for its use of very small barrels, a practice that owners Jame Lindon and Ben Lyon believe heightens the flavors of their light and dark rum and whiskey. They also hold the distinction of being the first to distill Maryland rye whiskey in over 40 years. Check lyondistilling. com for tour and tasting hours.
>> Copper Fox Distillery Whiskey aficionados, take a little road trip to Sperryville, Va. to taste award-winning single malt and rye whiskey from an old-fashioned rustic distillery. Copper Fox is the only distiller in the United States to do 100 percent of its own grain malting, and all bottles they produce are filled and wax dipped by hand. You’ll find no sleek modern design at this distillery, which harkens back to the early days of American whiskey making — out in the country inside an old barn, with an old yellow dog sitting out front. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. www.copperfox.biz
>> New Columbia Distillers Launched in 2012 by a former lawyer and his son-in-law, this distillery was the first to open in Washington in over a century. They’re known primarily for their Green Hat Gin, which has become a recognized local brand. Open for tours and tastings from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. www. greenhatgin.com
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