Portland, OR Distillers Fest

[Jimmidaboot]

Who is going? I'll be there to introduce myself and my copper smithing skills to people...I hope. Anyone else?

[jwymore]

I'm from Portland but unfortunately not in town for this. Give us a report ....

[Jimmidaboot]

Well let's see. We started the day at noon, at a luncheon where three distillers spoke: Tito Beveridge from Tito's Vodka, Lee Medoff from Bull Run Distilling, and Lee Pappas of Big Bottom Whiskey. Three signature cocktails from each of the brands in attendance were offered to those of us at the lunch. Talk about getting started early! It was entertaining and all three of these gentlemen were very approachable and willing to tell their stories in a candid manner. I introduced myself to them and had a brief conversation about the industry and my plans. They seemed receptive to my ideas and offered advice to me as well.

After lunch the distillers festival opened up. My god, there were a lot of liquors to taste and compare. It was really quite overwhelming. I sampled absynthe, many vodkas, a lot of different whiskeys, some interesting interpretations of american tequila, and a lot of other options. The folks manning the booths were informative and polite and more than willing to pour you any number of their products. It was a good thing that I had some lunch beforehand. I was able to make some promising connections and gave away many of my business cards to potential clients. We shall see if there is any follow up.

So, overall it was a fine event. There were mostly distillers peddling their brands. There was a table selling very small Al-Ambiq copper stills, a bottle supplier, and that's about it. I definitely enjoyed myself, but did take about a three hour break in the middle of the event in order to keep sober(ish). I would go again.