Skip to main content

House Spirits Makes a Name for Craft Distilling in the PNW

Nestled in Portland’s Industrial East Side, House Spirits Distillery is the Pacific Northwest’s crown jewel of craft booze.

Housing the largest distilling operation in the region, its new $6 million home base is the perfect place to book a tasting and tour while you’re in town.

House Spirits distillery and tasting room
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Manual met up with them at the debut of Portland Night Market to taste a few of the distiller’s most popular creations and find out why taste-makers both local and far-flung use these favorites as their go-to bar kit.  

Vodka, aquavit, and coffee liqueur from House Spirits
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Volstead Vodka

Andrew Volstead was the U.S. House of Representatives’ biggest champion for passing prohibition. But if he tried his namesake vodka from House Spirits, he just might change his mind. Filtered through charred coconut husks for a total of 96 hours, this vodka is exceptionally smooth and drinkable. It also won the gold medal at the 2013 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. And you know those judges tried a lot of vodka.

Recommended Videos

Krogstad Festlig Aquavit

Do you ever want to feel like a Viking dandy tromping through a meadow of wildflowers? This is as close as you’re likely to get. It’s not that this spirit has a cloying or perfumey floral — think understated and herbal with just a touch of something petaled. With caraway and star anise, this is Portland’s nod to the traditional Scandinavian concoction. Its crispness makes it a sensational addition to wake up your same-old Bloody Mary recipe.

Coffee Liqueur

If you’ve been to Portland, you know Stumptown coffee is the reigning brew. Here it comes together with rum distilled from Barbados molasses. Sweet but not syrupy, rich but not overpowering, this coffee liqueur is balanced enough to sip on its own. Just try giving this one a taste without immediately buying a bottle. It’s hard.

4 cocktails from House Spirits
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Want to give these a try, but you’re only ever in Portland long enough to take a photo of your shoes on our notoriously twee airport carpet? Lucky you: House Spirits just announced plans for a tasting room at PDX.

Megan Freshley
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Megan Freshley is a freelance copywriter and poet living in Portland, OR. She's studied at Antioch College and the Esalen…
Make a crystal clear espresso martini with Milagro’s new Cristalino Añejo tequila
Use this new tequila to add a crystal clear elegant to classic cocktails
milagro cristalino anejo clear espresso martini mila cktl espressomartini hand

When it comes to making exceptional cocktails, great flavors are of course an essential. But appearances matter too, and making a cocktail look elegant and tempting is part of the enjoyable sensory experience. That desire for fine appearances has driven a recent interest in cristalino tequilas, which are tequilas that are aged to develop their flavors and then filtered to give a crystal clear look.

The newest offering is from respected brand Milagro, which has debuted a Cristalino Añejo addition to its product line. While suited for sipping, the tequila is also intended for making beautiful cocktails, such as tequila twists on classic recipes. The brand's recipe for a clear espresso martini sounds particularly intriguing, combining Cristalino with Cointreau and vanilla-coffee bean syrup to capture the tastes of an espresso martini with the clear appearance of a classic martini.
Crystal Clear Espresso Martini

Read more
Make the perfect negroni to go with this flask recipe
All the tips and tricks for making a perfectly balanced negroni to carry in a flask
flask cocktail

There's something delightful about having a flask of your favorite tipple on hand when you're out and about. And while the most common use for a flask is  carrying spirits like whiskey or brandy, if you're feeling adventurous then you can also try your hand at flask cocktails. Given that this is Negroni Week, today I'm sharing my personal favorite recipe for a negroni on the go.
How to make a flask negroni
I have a flask of about 200ml, but you can adjust this recipe up or down for the size of your flask.
Ingredients:

50 ml gin (I like to use Tanqueray, but you can use whatever you prefer)
50 ml Campari
70 ml sweet vermouth (I'm using good old Martini & Rossi, but again you can use your preferred brand)
30 ml water
generous dash of orange bitters

Read more
Swap out your Campari and make an unexpected Cynar Negroni
This artichoke-based amaro has rich, caramel herbal flavors which add a great note to a negroni
Italian amari

As part of the ongoing celebration of Negroni Week, now is the perfect time to try out some negroni variations. With its simple formula of equal parts of gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari, the negroni is the ideal template for playing with different flavors and tweaking ingredients to make the drink your own.

The good news is that the negroni template is very flexible, so you can use just about any combination of spirit, sweeter aperitif, and bitter amaro and make something tasty. If you've got a well stocked bar and you feel like being brave, try out any combination and see how it goes.

Read more