Looking for NW wholesale Vodka supplier - WA, ID, OR

[tstrong]

Hello everyone, I'm looking for bulk acquisition of Vodka wholesale from distiller (preferably 150-190 proof) for blending. I'm in Washington State so preferably in surrounding states (Idaho, Oregon or in WA of course). Any ideas are appreciated, thank you in advance for your help. -Troy

[dhdunbar]

TTroy - if the distiller provides you the vodka, which would be neutral spirits (distilled at 190 or above) reduced with water to less than 190, you may - and probably will - limit the lable claims that you make to "bottled by Troy."

Next, if you buy the spirits from an out of state source, make sure you talk with the WSLCB about how you can get them and claim the privileges granted to craft distillers under Washington law. This presumes that you would contract for spirits produced from at least 51% Washington agricultural products. Note that the Washington Administrative Code (WAC), with which I am a little familiar because I live in the state, has specific provisions about contract production by craft distillers. Without looking, which I should do, but it is late, it allows one craft distiller to contract produce for another craft distiller as long as both claim the spirits against their 60,000 limit. I have looked before, but do not recall, how this applies in the case of a WA craft distiller contracting with an out of state distiller. One option, of course, is to pay for the distiller license ($2,000) and forgo the privilege of selling at the distillery. That presumes volume to justify the license fee, but if you did that, there would be no question that you are allowed to contract with out of state distillers.

My question to you – which is rhetorical – is why do you want to buy 150-190 proof spirits? Why not buy 190 proof spirits and cut them yourself, since you will have to cut them from 150-190 to bottling proof anyway? If you bring in 190, then you could redistill in the processing account to purify them (which I think would entitle you to say "distilled and bottled by Troy," or filter them to purify them, which would allow you to say "produced and bottled by Toy."

Finally, remember that neutral spirits are a bulk commodity. To avoid controversy, I will omit the arguments and jump right to the conclusion – consider it carefully before you agree to pay "craft" prices for neutral spirits.

[tstrong]

Thanks dh, yes I have a Classified Permit app in for that out of state possibilities. I just gave that range (150-190) looking for higher proof product and yes I would cut it/filter it myself to reduce, etc. I have no intention to pay craft prices, had just heard acquiring existing neutral spirits in Idaho (as an example) was less $$ than WA but who knows, still searching for info and more info and won't be underway til permits are all done of course, hoping w/in 14 days. I spoke with LCB and if I blend I don't qualify for that fee/price break on permit for 'locally used ingredients', only distillers....but it does give me more flexibility in big picture/long run and sadly, still costs $2k haha. All this is so new (even to LCB) that I think there will be more changes within the rules as time goes. Yes, I should have the combo permit in hand w/in 14 days hopefully (distill-rectify-blend), but have no intention of distilling at this time, just blending. TTB inspection this week, last step. Appreciate your feedback.

[dhdunbar]

tstrong - repay the favor please - write me at dhunbar1@gmail.com and tell me about the TTB inspection. Are they really coming out to knock on your door?

[Salishseaorganicliqueurs]

Troy,

I would suggest talking to pharmo-aaper, they are a national supplier of neutral grain spirits which you can then dilute to vodka proof and or run through your still. The washington rep is named Nancy Smith (nancy.smith@pharmcoaaper.com) and they ship from their warehouse in Vancouver, Wa.

or if you are looking for straight up bulk vodka tailored to your specific tastes there is also DR inc. out of Rigby, Idaho. ( (http://www.waytogoidaho.com). They are great, however, their minimum order is rather large.

Neither of these will meet the "craft distillers" 50% requirement though. We scoured Washington for a source of vodka for our base, however, we were only looking for certified organic vodkas so it is possible that there is a large non-organic supplier out there.